Extinction Today Research Articles

From B2B Survivor to SAP's Swallow

Ariba Inc. and Commerce One Inc. (C1), two bellwethers with e-entrepreneurship in the e-commerce field, provided business-to-business (B2B) spend management and supply chain services. After having been wiped out by the devaluation of the stock market that followed the dot-com era, C1 is extinct today. Having faced the same market condition and serious competition, innovative Ariba had a different path and was acquired by SAP in 2012. Nowadays, SAP Ariba (formerly known as Ariba) is the largest digital B2B network on the planet. Why did Ariba survive whereas C1 collapsed? The authors explore the external (hidden costs, high-priced software, hurtful investigation, harmful publicity) and internal (adaptations to environment, acquire to advance, add consulting services, aim customer support) factors that would draw lessons for other companies to learn.

Spectrum of Insects Infesting Western Himalayan Oaks (Quercus spp.) in India

The Western Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India is represented five species of oaks of the genus Quercus that are important from conservation as they support rich biodiversity of fauna and also for their multiple utilization values for local communities living in the region. However, oak forests today are under threat of extinction today mainly due to anthropogenic pressures along with attack by many species of insects.  Hence, there is a need to know the insect pest spectrum of oak forests and identify those species can cause damage to these trees, directly. As such field surveys across the oak forests of the state were carried out for 3 years (2017-2020) and revealed 114 species of insects infesting these 5 species of oaks. The comprehensive annotated checklist of insects infesting western Himalayan oaks in the state was prepared for 235 species (119 Lepidoptera; 100 Coleoptera; 16 Hemiptera & 1 Diptera) so far recorded on them and is presented in this paper along with their classification, habit, month of incidence and species of oak tree infested. Break up of species in different families of each of these 4 orders recorded is given along with species capable of causing potential damage to oak trees.

Impact of Climate Change on Aquatic Plants Found in Major Lentic Water Bodies Located at Eastern Rajasthan

Climate change is one of the major challenges of the environment which is caused by the burning of fossilfuel, deforestation, increasing anthropogenic activities, release of greenhouse gases and global warming.The biggest factor of concern is increase in greenhouse gases mainly CO2 level which change the climateand weather pattern. In Rajasthan situation is as critical as continuous rain failure create the conditions ofdraught in Rajasthan. Some of the immediate effects of recent climate change are becoming apparent througheffects on aquatic flora. Vicissitudes of climate have a considerable impact on aquatic flora. The wetlandecosystems, which are most productive but most fragile, are great threat of extinction today, partly onaccount of their use for human activities and partly due to natural threats; such as frequent droughts,scantly rainfall, erosion and biotic effects caused by biotic intervention in maintaining them. The currentreview mainly focuses on how flora of eastern Rajasthan are likely responding to direct and indirect effectsof anthropogenic climate change. We aim to awareness rather than to be comprehensive. Rajasthan is thelargest state of India area-wise constituting 10.4% of country’s geographical area. East Rajasthan got one ofthe two Ramsar sites of Rajasthan, two national parks, and 7 wildlife sanctuaries and comprises about 9%geographical area of the state. Most of the lakes in east Rajasthan get fully dried up at least once in four tofive years. All aquatic ecosystems of this region suffer from periodic desiccation. We include extinction inaquatic plants, endangered species, and invasive species. However, all are important in providing insightsinto future state of aquatic ecosystems. We also highlight some of the management issues relevant toconserving aquatic communities and ecosystem in the face of anthropogenic climate change.

TYPES OF FLAT EARTHEN ROOFS USED IN VERNACULAR ANATOLIAN ARCHITECTURE AND THEIR PRESERVATION PROBLEMS

ABSTRACT Earthen materials and rammed earth architecture concepts are becoming more and more popular among architects due to their applicability in various climates and low-cost construction technique. However, the use of flat earthen roofs in today’s architecture is rare, although there is historical evidence for the vernacular use of earthen materials in roof assemblies. The first examples for vernacular earthen flat roofs are found in Anatolia, Catalhoyuk. Flat earthen roofs used in vernacular, Anatolian buildings should be studied because a lack of maintenance has resulted in these vernacular Anatolian earthen buildings being on the verge of extinction today. There is a lack of literature research about the construction materials and techniques used in this traditional construction process. The aim of this study is to compile and present the knowledge behind this traditional flat earthen roof technique. In this study, initially, the flat earthen roofs used in vernacular Anatolian Architecture are analyzed via an extensive literature review. It has been found that in different districts of Anatolia, different types of vernacular flat earthen roofs together with different material layers and construction techniques exist. Site studies were carried out in Kemaliye.* During these site studies, six flat earthen roofs present in Kemaliye and in neighboring towns constructed via traditional construction techniques were analyzed and interviews were carried out with seven local foremen. Then, based on the information gathered, these traditional flat earthen roofs were classified into four types according to their material layers and construction techniques. Finally, preservation problems for flat earthen roofs are discussed.

TYPES OF FLAT EARTHEN ROOFS USED IN VERNACULAR ANATOLIAN ARCHITECTURE AND THEIR PRESERVATION PROBLEMS

ABSTRACT Earthen materials and rammed earth architecture concepts are becoming more and more popular among architects due to their applicability in various climates and low-cost construction technique. However, the use of flat earthen roofs in today’s architecture is rare, although there is historical evidence for the vernacular use of earthen materials in roof assemblies. The first examples for vernacular earthen flat roofs are found in Anatolia, Catalhoyuk. Flat earthen roofs used in vernacular, Anatolian buildings should be studied because a lack of maintenance has resulted in these vernacular Anatolian earthen buildings being on the verge of extinction today. There is a lack of literature research about the construction materials and techniques used in this traditional construction process. The aim of this study is to compile and present the knowledge behind this traditional flat earthen roof technique. In this study, initially, the flat earthen roofs used in vernacular Anatolian Architecture are analyzed via an extensive literature review. It has been found that in different districts of Anatolia, different types of vernacular flat earthen roofs together with different material layers and construction techniques exist. Site studies were carried out in Kemaliye.* During these site studies, six flat earthen roofs present in Kemaliye and in neighboring towns constructed via traditional construction techniques were analyzed and interviews were carried out with seven local foremen. Then, based on the information gathered, these traditional flat earthen roofs were classified into four types according to their material layers and construction techniques. Finally, preservation problems for flat earthen roofs are discussed.

Conservation actions benefit the most threatened species: A 13‐year assessment of Alliance for Zero Extinction species

AbstractMore species in the world are threatened with extinction today than at any other time in recent history. In 2005, the Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE; https://zeroextinction.org/) released its first inventory of highly threatened species (i.e., those listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered on the IUCN Red List) that are effectively confined to a single site. Updates were released in 2010 and 2018. Here we identify the species removed from the list in these updates, determine the reasons for these removals, identify species that no longer qualify as AZE species as a result of conservation actions, and examine which conservation actions produced these recoveries. In total, 360 species that qualified as AZE species in 2005 no longer qualified by 2018 (45% of those listed in 2005) due to improved knowledge of distribution or taxonomy (83%), genuine improvements resulting in species being downlisted to lower categories of extinction risk (12%), genuine range expansion of species such that they are no longer restricted to single sites (4%), or deterioration to extinction (1%). Our results show that while protected areas and site management are important to the successful conservation of AZE species, other conservation actions, such as species‐level management or improved laws and policies, are also essential to safeguard these species from extinction. Sixty‐eight percent of the original 2005 AZE sites are now fully or partially covered by protected areas, an increase of almost 20% in 15 years. Yet today, only 64% of current (2018) AZE sites are fully or partially covered by protected areas, with 36% lacking any formal protection. Continued efforts to safeguard and manage AZE sites would benefit not only the 1,483 AZE species but also potentially another 1,359 Critically Endangered and Endangered amphibian, bird, and mammal species whose distributions overlap with AZE sites.

Towards quantifying the mass extinction debt of the Anthropocene.

To make sense of our present biodiversity crises, the modern rate of species extinctions is commonly compared to a benchmark, or 'background,' rate derived from the fossil record. These estimates are critical for bounding the scale of modern diversity loss, but are yet to fully account for the fundamental structure of extinction rates through time. Namely, a substantial fraction of extinctions within the fossil record occurs within relatively short-lived extinction pulses, and not during intervals characterized by background rates of extinction. Accordingly, it is more appropriate to compare the modern event to these pulses than to the long-term average rate. Unfortunately, neither the duration of extinction pulses in the geological record nor the ultimate magnitude of the extinction pulse today is resolved, making assessments of their relative sizes difficult. In addition, the common metric used to compare current and past extinction rates does not correct for large differences in observation duration. Here, we propose a new predictive metric that may be used to ascertain the ultimate extent of the ongoing extinction threat, building on the observation that extinction magnitude in the marine fossil record is correlated to the magnitude of sedimentary turnover. Thus, we propose that the ultimate number of species destined for extinction today can be predicted by way of a quantitative appraisal of humanity's modification of ecosystems as recorded in sediments-that is, by comparing our future rock record with that of the past. The ubiquity of habitat disruption worldwide suggests that a profound mass extinction debt exists today, but one that might yet be averted by preserving and restoring ecosystems and their geological traces.

Phylogeography in an \u201coyster\u201d shell provides first insights into the genetic structure of an extinct Ostrea edulis population

The historical phylogeography of Ostrea edulis was successfully depicted in its native range for the first time using ancient DNA methods on dry shells from museum collections. This research reconstructed the historical population structure of the European flat oyster across Europe in the 1870s—including the now extinct population in the Wadden Sea. In total, four haplogroups were identified with one haplogroup having a patchy distribution from the North Sea to the Atlantic coast of France. This irregular distribution could be the result of translocations. The other three haplogroups are restricted to narrow geographic ranges, which may indicate adaptation to local environmental conditions or geographical barriers to gene flow. The phylogenetic reconstruction of the four haplogroups suggests the signatures of glacial refugia and postglacial expansion. The comparison with present-day O. edulis populations revealed a temporally stable population genetic pattern over the past 150 years despite large-scale translocations. This historical phylogeographic reconstruction was able to discover an autochthonous population in the German and Danish Wadden Sea in the late nineteenth century, where O. edulis is extinct today. The genetic distinctiveness of a now-extinct population hints at a connection between the genetic background of O. edulis in the Wadden Sea and for its absence until today.

Facing mass extinction, it is prudent to decolonise lands & laws: a philosophical essay on respecting jurisdiction

ABSTRACT The drivers of mass extinction today are societal processes (including economic and legal systems) inherited from European imperialism and embedded in the international state system. Their path dependencies demand that we engage in decolonial work. This work centrally involves countering land abstraction – the rendering instrumental of lands, waters, and skies for the sake of national territory, capitalist profit, or industrial resource use. Much Indigenous law is centred on moral relations with lands, internalising ‘ecological reflexivity’ within Indigenous society in highly articulated ways not present in the social memory of nation states. Prudential reasons thus support decolonising Indigenous lands, making room for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Indigenous law. Such reasons are not exclusive but rather add to already evident reasons of justice in support of Indigenous decolonisation which have for some time been urgent calls for concern. This paper provides new reasoning for decolonisation concerning the practical relations between the disestablishment of our inherited colonial order and the curtailment of now alarming rates of extinction threatening the current order of life on this Earth.

Drivers and trends in the extinction risk of New Zealand's endemic birds

New Zealand is well known as the “land of birds” with 168 extant native breeding species within an area of 270,000 km2. About 40 endemic avian species have gone extinct since human arrival 700 years ago, and a high proportion of the remaining ones are currently threatened with extinction. Here, we compile a retrospective assessment of the extinction risk of New Zealand's endemic birds from the 1980s to the present date using global and national information. We projected trends in extinction risk of species during the last four decades as well as trends for species with different life-history characteristics using the Red List Index (RLI). Overall, the RLI of New Zealand endemic birds has decreased from 0.83 in the 1980s to 0.68 in the 2010s, indicating a higher risk of extinction today than 40 years ago. The conservation status of 23 species (64%) deteriorated throughout the study period. We found that flightless and large species are more likely to have a decline in conservation status compared to volant and small species. Ground-nesting birds and those with long incubation times also face higher extinction risk compared to species nesting above 1 m height and short incubation periods. Species classified as habitat specialists and inhabiting water systems showed a more rapid increase in extinction risk than non-specialist species or those inhabiting forests. Our retrospective assessment can help conservationists to identify the characteristics that make endemic birds more likely to face a higher risk of extinction. Integrating historical conservation assessments and species' traits with extinction risk will improve our ability to manage and protect endangered species.

Late Pleistocene Mammuthus and Cuvieronius (proboscidea) from Térapa, Sonora, Mexico

What is currently known about México paleontology and specifically the proboscideans has centered in the central and southern states, with much of the north largely unknown. Here we report on Cuvieronius (Gomphotheriidae) and Mammuthus (Elephantidae) recovered from Térapa, a Late Pleistocene site in east-central Sonora. The local fauna reflects a badlands environment along the Río Moctezuma, 183 km (114 mi) south of the Arizona border. The recovery of Bison places the locality within the Rancholabrean Land Mammal Age. Chronological analyses confirm that impounding basalt and fossiliferous sediments were deposited 43,000 to 40,000 years ago (MIS 3). Cuvieronius and Mammuthus are found throughout the stratigraphic profile. A review of Late Pleistocene collections indicates that Mammuthus, Cuvieronius, and one location of Mammut are known from Sonora. The Late Pleistocene along the Térapa river valley is reconstructed as cooler, with a more equable, less seasonal environment than today. The corridor was wetter, more tropical and included a riparian forest, ponding water, marsh, and savanna grassland. The area west of Térapa in western Sonora had a cooler summer climate, more winter rains and less summer rains. Woodlands and shrub communities occupied the upper bajadas and rocky hills, areas possibly where Mammut ranged more commonly. Valleys contained more grasslands than they do today. The environments and climates of valleys permitted Cynomys, Mammuthus, and Cuvieronius to exist over most of western Sonora where they are extinct today.

Decline of the Knysna elephants: Pattern and hypotheses

Understanding and identifying drivers of local population declines are important in mitigating future risks and optimising conservation efforts. The Knysna elephants have, after being afforded protection since the early 1900s, declined to near extinction today. We propose three hypotheses as to why the Knysna elephant population declined. The refugee hypothesis suggests that anthropogenic activities forced the elephants to take refuge in the forest and that the low-quality food acted as the primary driver of decline. The illegal killing hypothesis suggests that the elephants adapted to the forest and its immediate fynbos habitat, with the decline being a consequence of illegal kills. The stochastic founder population hypothesis postulates that the population size and structure left it vulnerable to demographic stochasticity. We critically reviewed available evidence for these hypotheses and found that, although the historical elephant range decline most likely resulted through the refugee hypothesis, the weak demographic and life-history information limits elimination of either of the other hypotheses. We touch on the implications for decision-makers and draw attention to information requirements.
 Significance:
 
 We highlight the knowledge and management challenges which exist for small, threatened populations of which long-term demographic data are sparse.
 We provide the first unbiased evaluation of multiple drivers that may have caused the decline of the Knysna elephants.

Sammarinese, the Endangered Language of the Republic of San Marino: A Preliminary Study of Documentation and Description

Abstract This paper presents the results of a preliminary study of documentation and description of Sammarinese, a peripheral variety of Romagnol spoken in the Republic of San Marino. Despite having been the country’s primary oral language for almost 1,000 years, Sammarinese is on the verge of extinction today as universal education and economic development have caused language shift to Italian beginning from the 1960s. A corpus of primary oral language data was collected from 17 informants in the form of semi-structured interviews with the goal of creating an archive of oral language histories in Sammarinese. These data, together with a corpus of vernacular and folkloric literature, served as the database for a descriptive analysis of some of the major phonological and morphosyntactic traits of the language. The results confirm Sammarinese’s status as a borderline Romagnol variety. However, the findings also reveal a language that stands apart from neighboring varieties due to complex historical and geographical factors, including a Celtic substratum from the pre-Roman and Roman times, a Byzantine Greek heritage and Lombard/ Germanic influence from the second half of the first millennium, and a geographic position that resulted in linguistic isolation from the vernaculars spoken in the Central Romagnol plain.

Museum specimens indicate genetic erosion in an endangered lizard

Abstract Genetic variability, one of the main factors that guarantees species persistence, and species’ conservation status are generally evaluated with indices calculated at the present time. Natural history collections might help compare historical and current genetic diversity so to identify major trends. Here we analysed museum specimens of the lizard Zootoca vivipara carniolica, with a specific and stringent protocol for degraded DNA, in order to contrast its past and current genetic variability, using fragments of one mitochondrial DNA gene. Part of the distributional range of Z. v. carniolica (Po Plain, Italy), heavily impacted by human activities, was investigated. We found two previously unknown haplotypes in populations that are extinct today, suggesting the loss of these haplotypes and thus an overall shrinking of genetic variability. We argue that these results, together with the increasing threats posed by climate and land use changes, suggest that specific conservation measures for the persistence of Z. v. carniolica in Northern Italian lowlands have to be considered.

SAIGA TATARICA L. RUSSIA’S ENDANGERED SPECIES

Aim. The saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica L.) is the last hoofed mammal surviving in the Russian steppe which is on the verge of extinction today. The aim of this article is to assess the current state of the saiga in Russia, determine the causes of the reduction in its population and area and to develop recommendations for the conservation of this species. Methods. The material, presented in the paper, is the result of the analysis of the available literature sources on the Saiga, personal observations on the animals in the period of 1959-2015 in nature and various nurseries, including the Center for rare animals of European steppes founded in 2004. Results. The article highlights the issues of population dynamics in Saiga distributions in the last century, the reasons for the reduction in its amount, the measures taken for the protection of this species and its present condition. We consider specific measures for Saiga conservation in the modern world. We also take into account the experience of the Association "Wildlife of the Steppe", where they have developed the biotechnology of breeding Saiga in nurseries, zoos and farms. And for many years this association has been home for self-reproducing groupings of this animal. Main conclusions. Currently, Saiga antelope in Russia is an endangered species, and conservation requires the state and public to take serious urgent measures to protect and restore the population, including breeding in artificial conditions and release into the wild.

Genome and Evolution of Yersinia pestis.

This chapter summarizes researches on genome and evolution features of Yersinia pestis, the young pathogen that evolved from Y. pseudotuberculosis at least 5000 years ago. Y. pestis is a highly clonal bacterial species with closed pan-genome. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that genome of Y. pestis experienced highly frequent rearrangement and genome decay events during the evolution. The genealogy of Y. pestis includes five major branches, and four of them seemed raised from a "big bang" node that is associated with the Black Death. Although whole genome-wide variation of Y. pestis reflected a neutral evolutionary process, the branch length in the genealogical tree revealed over dispersion, which was supposedly caused by varied historical molecular clock that is associated with demographical effect by alternate cycles of enzootic disease and epizootic disease in sylvatic plague foci. In recent years, palaeomicrobiology researches on victims of the Black Death, and Justinian's plague verified that two historical pandemics were indeed caused by Y. pestis, but the etiological lineages might be extinct today.

Simulating the elimination of sleeping sickness with an agent-based model.

Although Human African Trypanosomiasis is largely considered to be in the process of extinction today, the persistence of human and animal reservoirs, as well as the vector, necessitates a laborious elimination process. In this context, modeling could be an effective tool to evaluate the ability of different public health interventions to control the disease. Using the Cormas® system, we developed HATSim, an agent-based model capable of simulating the possible endemic evolutions of sleeping sickness and the ability of National Control Programs to eliminate the disease. This model takes into account the analysis of epidemiological, entomological, and ecological data from field studies conducted during the last decade, making it possible to predict the evolution of the disease within this area over a 5-year span. In this article, we first present HATSim according to the Overview, Design concepts, and Details (ODD) protocol that is classically used to describe agent-based models, then, in a second part, we present predictive results concerning the evolution of Human African Trypanosomiasis in the village of Lambi (Cameroon), in order to illustrate the interest of such a tool. Our results are consistent with what was observed in the field by the Cameroonian National Control Program (CNCP). Our simulations also revealed that regular screening can be sufficient, although vector control applied to all areas with human activities could be significantly more efficient. Our results indicate that the current model can already help decision-makers in planning the elimination of the disease in foci.

Digestive system anatomy of the Acipenser persicus: New features

Sturgeon is one of the most important species of the Caspian Sea aquatics. Unfortunately, this species faces the threat of extinction today. This makes specific studies on any type of sturgeons more important than before. Studies like histological studies, radiology, and sonography, all require a complete understanding of the anatomy of this fish. Since pilot studies showed some misconceptions in description of the sturgeon digestive system, this study was conducted to evaluate more precise anatomical structure of the digestive system of Acipenser persicus as the most important sturgeon species of Iran. A total of 40 adult Acipenser persicus were used in this experiment. They were autopsied primary to the study. All parts of the digestive system from buccal cavity toward rectum and anal orifice were evaluated. The anatomical structure and relations of the different parts of the digestive system including oral cavity, pharynx, esophagus, glandular stomach, muscular stomach, pyloric process, small intestine, spiral intestine, rectum, liver and pancreas were described. The digestive tube is relatively short. The stomach has two parts. The first part, or the proventricle, is U-shaped. The second part or gizzard has thick muscles and is almost surrounded with liver lobes. Pyloric caecum is located on the left side bottom of the gizzard as a sponge like structure. The intestines are made of 3 parts: the small intestine, the spiral colon, and the rectum. The small intestine has two flexures that separate it to three parts named the descending, ascending, and the end part, respectively. The spiral colon is the longest part of the digestive tube. This part has mucosal spiral septum on the inner surface. The rectum is short and located in the middle of the abdominal cavity. However, in the present study the opening was shown to be located in the muscular stomach and the intestine junction, just close to the gall bladder duct opening.

Sharks and rays (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the late Miocene Gatun Formation of Panama

The late Miocene Gatun Formation of northern Panama contains a highly diverse and well sampled fossil marine assemblage that occupied a shallow-water embayment close to a purported connection between the Pacific and Atlantic (Caribbean) oceans. However, the diverse chondrichthyan fauna has been poorly documented. Based on recent field discoveries and further analysis of existing collections, the chondrichthyan fauna from this unit comprises at least 26 taxa, of which four species are extinct today. The remaining portion of the total chondrichthyan biodiversity has affinities with modern taxa and is therefore comprised of long-lived species. Based on known records of the modern geographic distribution range of the Gatun chondrichthyans, the fauna has mixed biogeographic affinities suggesting that around 10 million yr ago, a connection likely occurred between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Given the known habitat preferences for modern chondrichthyans, the Gatun fauna was primarily adapted to shallow waters within the neritic zone. Finally, comparisons of Gatun dental measurements with other faunas suggest that many of the taxa have an abundance of small individuals, in agreement with previous studies that proposed this area as a paleonursery habitat for the speciesCarcharocles megalodon.

Breeding or Assisted Reproduction? Relevance of the Horse Model Applied to the Conservation of Endangered Equids

Many wild equids are at present endangered in the wild. Concurrently, increased mechanization has pushed back the numbers of some old native horse breeds to levels that are no longer compatible with survival of the breed. Strong concerns arose in the last decade to preserve animal biodiversity, including that of rare horse breeds. Genome Resource Banking refers to the cryostorage of genetic material and is an approach for ex situ conservation, which should be applied in combination with in situ conservation programmes. In this review, we propose that, owing to the great reproductive similarity among the different members of the genus Equus, the domestic horse can be used to optimize cryopreservation and embryo production protocols for future application in wild equids. We will give this hypothesis a scientific underpinning by listing successful applications of epididymal sperm freezing, embryo freezing, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, oocyte vitrification and somatic cell nuclear transfer in domestic horses. Some ART fertilization methods may be performed with semen of very low quality or with oocytes obtained after the death of the mare.