Conservation Of Animal Species Research Articles

Cloning for the Twenty-First Century and Its Place in Endangered Species Conservation.

Cloning as it relates to the animal kingdom generally refers to the production of genetically identical individuals. Because cloning is increasingly the subject of renewed attention as a tool for rescuing endangered or extinct species, it seems timely to dissect the role of the numerous reproductive techniques encompassed by this term in animal species conservation. Although cloning is typically associated with somatic cell nuclear transfer, the recent advent of additional techniques that allow genome replication without genetic recombination demands that the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to generate gametes or embryos, as well as older methods such as embryo splitting, all be included in this discussion. Additionally, the phenomenon of natural cloning (e.g., a subset of fish, birds, invertebrates, and reptilian species that reproduce via parthenogenesis) must also be pointed out. Beyond the biology of these techniques are practical considerations and the ethics of using cloning and associated procedures in endangered or extinct species. All of these must be examined in concert to determine whether cloning has a place in species conservation. Therefore, we synthesize progress in cloning and associated techniques and dissect the practical and ethical aspects of these methods as they pertain to endangered species conservation.

Assessing factors influencing students' perceptions towards animal species conservation.

The way humans perceive and interact with non-human animals is particular to each person, from antipathetic interactions evidenced by fear, aversion or repulsion, to empathy evidenced by feelings of affection, enchantment and interest in the animal. In this sense, herein we investigated the perception of university students about species belonging to different classes of wild vertebrates and the influence of social and educational factors on that. Data were obtained through online forms answered by 700 university students from nine Brazilian states, 328 females and 372 males, aged between 18 and 65 years. The form had eight sentences to be answered in relation to 17 species of wild vertebrates. The agreement level for each of these sentences was to be indicated using a five-point Likert scale. The sentences were designed to assess aesthetic, risk, utilitarian, and preservation perceptions attributed to each species by students. We found that species perceived as useful by the students are generally also perceived as beautiful and as those that should be preserved. On the other hand, we found similarity between the species perceived as ugly and those that should not be preserved; and between the species perceived as harmful and those considered dangerous. Female and lower-income students more often agree that animals are harmful. We found that perceptions of danger in relation to animals were predominantly associated with younger respondents. However, this did not lead to less support for conservation among these students, as students of all age groups agree that species should be preserved. Our results show that students' knowledge area was an important predictor associated with empathetic and antipathetic perceptions. Environmental area students showed greater empathy in all analyzed categories (beauty, usefulness, harmlessness, and preservation) than non-environmental areas students. On the other hand, students from the area of the exact sciences showed greater dislike in all analyzed categories than students from other areas. We found a strong relationship between the areas "Environmental" and "Humanities, Languages and Arts" for the attitudinal factors associated with utility and preservation, suggesting a similar empathetic worldview for students in these areas. We found that the perception directed towards wild vertebrates varies according to the gender, age, income and study area of the students, in addition to the taxon considered. Finally, our results indicate that negative perceptions should be taken into account in environmental education efforts, educational policies and in planning fauna conservation plans which should incorporate the most diverse audiences, and not only encompass charismatic species but extend to animals that arouse great aversion from the part of people.

Gene drive communication: exploring experts’ lived experience of metaphor use

Metaphors have been crucial in making genetics and genomics public, from the code and the book of life to genetic scissors and gene surgery. A new field is emerging called “gene drive” – a range of controversial technologies that can potentially be used for the eradication or conservation of animal species. At the same time, metaphors are emerging to talk about the promises and dangers of “gene drive”. In this article we use thematic analysis to examine thirty interviews with gene drive science and communication experts, and stakeholders, focusing on how they talk about their lived experience of metaphor use in the context of gene drive communication, including their struggle to remember salient metaphors and their reflections on which metaphors to use and which to avoid. We discuss the significance of our findings for research and practice of responsible science communication.

Indigenous knowledge of zootherapeutic use among the people of Hazara division Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The various animals and plant species, their parts, and products are being used in traditional health care and cultural practices but the use of animals, their parts and products have rarely recorded especially in Pakistan. This study investigated and documented animal species used by traditional residents for treatments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hazara area of Pakistan. A field survey conducted in 2017-2018 in 6 districts of the Hazara region. A total of 63 animal species belonging to 47 families were reported for their ethnozoological importance including Mammals 33%, Birds 25%, Arthropods 17%, Reptiles 8%, Fishes 6%, Mollusks 3%, Annelids 3% Platyhelminthes and Amphibians 2% respectively. Out of 63 animals, 59 have medicinal importance and used to treat different human diseases. The most used animal species to treat various human ailments in Hazara region were includes Ovisaries (sheep), Portunessanguinolentus crab), Capra aegagrushircus (goat), Columba liviadomestica (pigeon), Bubalusbubalis (Buffalo) and Apiscerana (honey bee) and most used body parts include fats, meat, blood, milk, feces, urine, honey, tusk, feathers and shell. This ethnozoology study can play an important role in the biodiversity and conservation of animal species in the study area, laying the foundation for drug development.

Study of Habitat Patterns of Captive Animals in the Assam State Zoo

Conservation of animal species is very important to recover the loss which occurred in the past. Zoo provides the better place for ex-situ conservation of threatened animal species. The artificial habitat in zoo should resemble with that of natural habitat so that animal will not face difficulty in adapting to that place. Generally, habitat means the place where an organism lives but that habitat must be provided with all the basic requirements like proper food, cleanliness, proper size of the enclosure, proper breeding sites, etc. Key-wordsHabitat, Breeding, Behaviour, Space -------------------------------------------------IJLSSR----------------------------------------------INTRODUCTION Every individual have an equal right to live freely in the surroundings. In addition to human beings, animal too have that have right to live freely in their original habitat (Wild) and can move freely inside the forest. Due to poaching, forest destruction, environmental condition etc. the number of animals declining as time passes. However it is true that if extinction of animals continues, there will be nothing for the future generation. For exampleIndian One Horned Rhino, Royal Bengal Tiger, Pygmy Hog etc. are in a threatened category. The present census of these animals is very less as compare to that of past census. Therefore, now a day’s proper conservation of animal is very important in the artificial habitat. Zoo is the better place for their conservation as it can conserve large number of different animal species at a time.The zoos have historically been identified as sites for the entertainment of general public and continue to be dependenton the revenue through visitors. Contemporarily, zoos are now defined as active sites for wildlife conservation. They now act as sites for conservation, education, research and entertainment. [1] The animals which are kept in zoo have lost their original habitat. Normally the animals kept in captive conditions but in Assam State Zoo shows some exception of it. Access this article online Quick Response Code: Website:

Wielofunkcyjność rolnictwa jako czynnik rozwoju zrównoważonego obszarów wiejskich w Polsce

Multifunctional agriculture perfectly corresponds to the concept of the sustainable development of rural areas. It brings environmental benefits: moderate and economical use of resources, respect for natural environment, preservation of agricultural landscape, conservation of animal species and plant varieties valuable in natural terms. Economic advantages related to multifunctional agriculture include additional income for farmers. There are also some social benefits such as: reinforcement of mutual links and acceptance by local communities concerning the development line of their areas. The main idea of multifunctionality is that while there are many agricultural functions expressed in terms of goods, services and markets, agriculture also produces non-market goods, e.g. in helping to preserve the landscape or biodiversity. The existence of both these types of goods is not antagonistic. The connection between the beneficial external effects of farming and its production of market goods is known as jointness. The scenario of support for multifunctional farming in Poland was outlined in the Rural Development Plan 2004–2006, and is continued under the Rural Development Programme 2007–2013. The instruments employed to implement the goals of multifunctional farming and sustainable development of rural areas were the EU measures: Support for agricultural activity in less-favoured areas (LFAs), the agri-environmental programme, and payments for energy crops. On the basis of research incorporating spatial autocorrelation statistics, the RDP 2007–2013 measures supporting multifunctional agriculture in its productive and natural (green) functions were found to have an advantageous effect on the sustainable development of rural areas in the following Voivodeships: Zachodniopomorskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie and Podlaskie as well as northern parts of Mazowieckie and Warminsko-Mazurskie. Their effect was less significant in southern Poland, as well as in Kujawsko-Pomorskie in the case of organic farming and in Podlaskie and Warminsko-Mazurskie in the case of energy crops. In the remaining regions support for multifunctional farming had no significant influence on the sustainable development of their rural areas.

Species appeal predicts conservation status

Conservation of animal species should start from real needs of protection and intervention shown by species and their habitats, but it is often driven by the perception which humans have of species, as the latter enables fund raising and attracts financial resources for conservation actions. However, this approach dominated by the so-called flagship species has been severely criticised, because of the associated risk of directing resources to charismatic species while neglecting threatened ones. An analysis of conservation status in relation to species appeal, habitat, sociality, body length and population size outlined how the more “appealing” bird species in Italy have better conservation status. This is likely due to an over-representation of most appealing species in conservation projects and suggests that a more careful and status-based prioritization of conservation efforts should be adopted.

Endangered species, archaeology, and stable isotopes: huemul ( Hippocamelus bisulcus) isotopic ecology in central-western Patagonia (South America)

The management and conservation of animal species should be based upon a long-term analysis that considers its geographical distribution and feeding patterns. The study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes on skeletal remains provides a quantitative approach to the paleodietary reconstructions and constitutes a potent tool for comparing behavioral aspects of the fauna. In this paper we present the first set of isotopic values for modern and archaeological samples of Huemul ( Hippocamelus bisulcus) from the forests of Central-western Patagonia, Chile. Contrary to initial expectations, our analysis indicates that there is no evidence of an important incidence of the canopy effect on the δ 13Ccollagen values, which we suggest is due to an ecological selection that drives the huemul to focus its predation on open sectors within the forest. On the other hand, a wide range of δ 15Ncollagen values for huemul was verified. This could reflect the N impoverishment of the forest soils and provide an interesting ecological indicator. The long-term information offered by the archaeological record provides the necessary context for decision-making conducive towards the preservation of Hippocamelus bisulcus in Patagonia.

Fine‐scale population genetic structuring of bottlenose dolphins in Irish coastal waters

AbstractThe identification of localized discrete populations is particularly important to the management and conservation of animal species, especially in the marine environment, where potential for dispersal is high but barriers to gene flow are often not clear. We investigated population genetic structuring of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus found along the west coast of Ireland, with particular attention to the Shannon Estuary, which is the only candidate Special Area of Conservation designated for this species in Irish waters. A genetic structure analysis using 62 biopsy samples from free ranging dolphins and 23 necropsies from stranded dolphins revealed fine‐scale population structure among three distinct populations. The Shannon Estuary population appears to be genetically isolated from adjacent coastal areas, with the exception of four animals sampled from a small group of six dolphins that are now resident in Cork Harbour (south coast) indicating ongoing gene flow or recent dispersal between these two areas. A second genetically distinct aggregation was identified in the Connemara–Mayo region, where recent photo‐identification studies have suggested that dolphins found in this area show a degree of site fidelity. We found moderate nuclear (15 microsatellites) and low mitochondrial (544 bp of the control region) gene diversity in dolphins using the Shannon Estuary and the Connemara–Mayo region, while dolphins that stranded along the coast showed markedly higher levels of gene diversity at both classes of markers. Specifically, these stranded dolphins formed a third genetically distinct cluster, which may be part of a larger pelagic population, as also suggested by the high levels of gene diversity. These results provide new insights into population structure of bottlenose dolphins in Irish waters and will aid future management and conservation of the species in the eastern North Atlantic.

Commercialization of animal-derived remedies as complementary medicine in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil

Aim of the study In this study, we aim to document the use of animal species in traditional medicine and healing practices in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil. While widespread and of great importance to large population that has limited access to contemporary medicine, such practices are poorly understood and the potential value of medicinal animal species largely unknown. Materials and methods Based on interviews with the merchants of medicinal animals, we calculated the informant consensus factor (ICF) to determine the consensus over which species are effective for particular ailments, as well as the species relative importance to determine the extent of potential utilization of each species. Results We describe the therapeutic effects of 36 animal species used medicinally. The zootherapeutical products sold commercially are used to treat 40 health problems that were classified into 10 broad categories. We also highlight those species valued for their effectiveness against a range of ailments. The highest ICF value (0.91) was cited for diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, which include relief of symptoms such as acne and furuncles. Discussion and conclusion This study demonstrates that many animal species play an important role in healing practices. Animals provide the raw materials for remedies prescribed clinically and are also used in the form of amulets and charms in magic–religious rituals and ceremonies. The medicinal value of animal species depends on the local knowledge that exists within user communities, and therefore, the conservation of animal species is imperative to the preservation of local medicinal knowledge and culture.

Recovery of Faunal Communities During Tropical Forest Regeneration

Abstract: As mature tropical forests are cleared, secondary forests may play an important role in the conservation of animal species, depending on how fast animal communities recover during forest regeneration. I reviewed published studies on the recovery of animal species richness and composition during tropical forest regeneration. In 38 of the 39 data sets I examined, conversion of forest to agriculture or pasture substantially reduced species richness. Given suitable conditions for forest recovery, the species richness of the animal taxa considered can be predicted to resemble that of mature forests roughly 20–40 years after land abandonment. At least for ants and birds, however, recovery of species composition appears to take substantially longer than recovery of species richness. Because species richness for many taxa appears to recover relatively rapidly in secondary forests, conservation of secondary forests may be an effective investment in future diversity. The slower recovery of species composition indicates, however, that some species will require stands of mature forest to persist.

"Conservation of animal species: fundamental research and applications" Neuchâtel, 19-20 April 1991 (Annual Conference of the Swiss Zoological Society)

"Conservation of animal species: fundamental research and applications" Neuchâtel, 19-20 April 1991 (Annual Conference of the Swiss Zoological Society)

Selective logging and wildlife conservation in tropical rain-forest: Problems and recommendations

Exploited forests have frequently been regarded as being of little use in the conservation of animal species. While it is true that many species are adversely affected by selective logging and some are entirely unable to survive in disturbed forest, a large number of species are able to maintain viable populations. Logged forests may have an important rôle in the conservation of rain-forest animals as they will continue to occupy large land areas, whereas primary forest reserves will be increasingly restricted in size. Primary forests are of vital importance in supporting a full range of rain-forest species, but logged forests are able to support many animals, including some that cannot survive in small, isolated primary forest reserves.