Small Protected Areas Research Articles

Management costs for small protected areas and economies of scale in habitat conservation

Protected area management must be resourced adequately to achieve its conservation objectives. The variability in management costs across candidate sites for protection therefore should inform conservation planning. For example, when considering whether to accept a donation of a property, a conservation organisation must determine whether an adequate endowment is available to fund future management activities. We examine variation in management costs across 78 small protected areas in the UK that are managed by a conservation NGO, the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Management costs exceed acquisition costs when funded on an endowment basis and are not correlated with acquisition costs or with proxy measures for conservation costs commonly relied upon in conservation planning studies. A combination of geographic, ecological and socioeconomic characteristics of sites explains 50% of the variation in management costs. Site area is the most important determinant of management costs, which demonstrate economies of scale; implementing conservation management on an additional hectare adjacent to a larger protected area would incur a lower cost than doing the same adjacent to a smaller site. In evidencing this effect of site area, we avoid problems of spurious correlation that confound previous studies. Protected areas that encompass a greater richness of priority habitats for conservation also require more expensive management. Conservation organisations may have little option but to create small protected areas to conserve biodiversity in highly fragmented landscapes, but the decision to do so should take account of the greater cost burden that small protected areas incur.

Effectiveness of Scat-Detection Dogs in Determining Species Presence in a Tropical Savanna Landscape

Most protected areas are too small to sustain populations of wide-ranging mammals; thus, identification and conservation of high-quality habitat for those animals outside parks is often a high priority, particularly for regions where extensive land conversion is occurring. This is the case in the vicinity of Emas National Park, a small protected area in the Brazilian Cerrado. Over the last 40 years the native vegetation surrounding the park has been converted to agriculture, but the region still supports virtually all of the animals native to the area. We determined the effectiveness of scat-detection dogs in detecting presence of five species of mammals threatened with extinction by habitat loss: maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), puma (Puma concolor), jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), and giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus). The probability of scat detection varied among the five species and among survey quadrats of different size, but was consistent across team, season, and year. The probability of occurrence, determined from the presence of scat, in a randomly selected site within the study area ranged from 0.14 for jaguars, which occur primarily in the forested areas of the park, to 0.91 for maned wolves, the most widely distributed species in our study area. Most occurrences of giant armadillos in the park were in open grasslands, but in the agricultural matrix they tended to occur in riparian woodlands. At least one target species occurred in every survey quadrat, and giant armadillos, jaguars, and maned wolves were more likely to be present in quadrats located inside than outside the park. The effort required for detection of scats was highest for the two felids. We were able to detect the presence for each of five wide-ranging species inside and outside the park and to assign occurrence probabilities to specific survey sites. Thus, scat dogs provide an effective survey tool for rare species even when accurate detection likelihoods are required. We believe the way we used scat-detection dogs to determine the presence of species can be applied to the detection of other mammalian species in other ecosystems.

Marine no-take zone rapidly benefits endangered penguin

No-take zones may protect populations of targeted marine species and restore the integrity of marine ecosystems, but it is unclear whether they benefit top predators that rely on mobile pelagic fishes. In South Africa, foraging effort of breeding African penguins decreased by 30 per cent within three months of closing a 20 km zone to the competing purse-seine fisheries around their largest colony. After the fishing ban, most of the penguins from this island had shifted their feeding effort inside the closed area. Birds breeding at another colony situated 50 km away, whose fishing grounds remained open to fishing, increased their foraging effort during the same period. This demonstrates the immediate benefit of a relatively small no-take zone for a marine top predator relying on pelagic prey. Selecting such small protected areas may be an important first conservation step, minimizing stakeholder conflicts and easing compliance, while ensuring benefit for the ecosystems within these habitats.

Size matters: Management of stress responses and chronic stress in beaked whales and other marine mammals may require larger exclusion zones

Marine mammal management traditionally focuses on lethal takes, but non-lethal (or not immediately lethal) impacts of human disturbance, such as prolonged or repeated activation of the stress response, can also have serious conservation implications. The physiological stress response is a life-saving combination of systems and events that maximises the ability of an animal to kill or avoid being killed. However, “chronic stress” is linked to numerous conditions in humans, including coronary disease and infertility. Through examples, including beaked whales and sonar exposure, we discuss increasing human disturbance, mal-adaptive stress responses and chronic stress. Deep-diving and coastal species, and those targeted by whalewatching, may be particularly vulnerable. The various conditions linked with chronic stress in humans would have troubling implications for conservation efforts in endangered species, demands management attention, and may partly explain why some species have not recovered after protective measures (e.g., smaller protected areas) have been put into place.

The velocity of climate change

The ranges of plants and animals are moving in response to recent changes in climate. As temperatures rise, ecosystems with 'nowhere to go', such as mountains, are considered to be more threatened. However, species survival may depend as much on keeping pace with moving climates as the climate's ultimate persistence. Here we present a new index of the velocity of temperature change (km yr(-1)), derived from spatial gradients ( degrees C km(-1)) and multimodel ensemble forecasts of rates of temperature increase ( degrees C yr(-1)) in the twenty-first century. This index represents the instantaneous local velocity along Earth's surface needed to maintain constant temperatures, and has a global mean of 0.42 km yr(-1) (A1B emission scenario). Owing to topographic effects, the velocity of temperature change is lowest in mountainous biomes such as tropical and subtropical coniferous forests (0.08 km yr(-1)), temperate coniferous forest, and montane grasslands. Velocities are highest in flooded grasslands (1.26 km yr(-1)), mangroves and deserts. High velocities suggest that the climates of only 8% of global protected areas have residence times exceeding 100 years. Small protected areas exacerbate the problem in Mediterranean-type and temperate coniferous forest biomes. Large protected areas may mitigate the problem in desert biomes. These results indicate management strategies for minimizing biodiversity loss from climate change. Montane landscapes may effectively shelter many species into the next century. Elsewhere, reduced emissions, a much expanded network of protected areas, or efforts to increase species movement may be necessary.

Elephant seasonal vegetation preferences across dry and wet savannas

As African savanna elephants ( Loxodonta africana) become increasingly confined to smaller fragmented landscapes, concern over their potential detrimental impacts on vegetation and biodiversity has increased. Understanding elephant vegetation preferences across relevant spatial and temporal scales is a critical step towards managing protected areas for the persistence of both elephants and biodiversity. To better understand elephant vegetation selection, we fitted 68 elephants with GPS collars across a strong rainfall gradient spanning seven southern African countries over a period of 6 years. We compared elephant locations with remotely-sensed environmental data that measure bi-monthly vegetation greenness across the study area. Elephants consistently seek out greener than expected vegetation throughout the year. Interestingly, they do so by utilizing vegetation with different phenologies and by selecting landscapes when they are greener than their surroundings. We found no differences between dry and wet savannas. These patterns persist even when elephants are constrained by seasonally available water. In the wet season, elephants select seasonally variable landscapes such as open woodlands, shrublands, and grasslands. These landscapes have a lower average annual greenness but become very green for a few months in the wet season. In the dry season, elephants prefer less variable landscapes that are more consistently green year-round such as well-wooded areas and closed woodlands. Because elephants prefer different vegetation types at different times of the year, small homogeneous protected areas may be unsuitable for elephants. Since elephants prefer woody vegetation during the dry season when they are constrained by water, human actions that increase dry season water availability may contribute to detrimental elephant impacts on vegetation and biodiversity.

Ecosystem service benefits of contrasting conservation strategies in a human-dominated region.

The hope among policy-makers and scientists alike is that conservation strategies designed to protect biodiversity also provide direct benefits to people by protecting other vital ecosystem services. The few studies that have examined the delivery of ecosystem services by existing conservation efforts have concentrated on large, 'wilderness'-style biodiversity reserves. However, such reserves are not realistic options for densely populated regions. Here, we provide the first analyses that compare representation of biodiversity and three other ecosystem services across several contrasting conservation strategies in a human-dominated landscape (England). We show that small protected areas and protected landscapes (restrictive zoning) deliver high carbon storage and biodiversity, while existing incentive payment (agri-environment) schemes target areas that offer little advantage over other parts of England in terms of biodiversity, carbon storage and agricultural production. A fourth ecosystem service-recreation-is under-represented by all three strategies. Our findings are encouraging as they illustrate that restrictive zoning can play a major role in protecting natural capital assets in densely populated regions. However, trade-offs exist even among the four ecosystem services we considered, suggesting that a portfolio of conservation and sustainability investments will be needed to deliver both biodiversity and the other ecosystem services demanded by society.

How many pheasants (Phasianus colchicus L.) can be removed? A study on small protected areas in Italy

In Italy the maintenance and the increase of wild pheasant populations is mainly obtained in small-Protected Areas (PA) suitable for wildlife reproduction. In these areas a part of the resident population is regularly captured and transferred to the hunting zones in the winter time. The aim of the study is to determine the right number of pheasant to be removed from this protected area without causing damage and thus maintaining a balance in the resident population. Since 2000, flush counts census were conducted in 30 PAs in the Florence province during the summer time (post-reproduction period), using dogs experienced at rooting out the pheasants. We made estimates for each PA in the number of adult males, adult females and sexually undifferentiated young pheasants. We calculated post-reproduction density and the ratios of young/adults and males/females. These parameters were used to construct a model to predict the pheasants catches in the next winter. The study showed that the minimum census surface covered must be more than 9% of the total area studied. Smaller cover- age gave biased estimations of pheasant numbers to be caught. The best generic model, to be used for surfaces between 297 and 1385 ha, located in Mediterranean habitats, was the following: total number of pheasants to be captured and relocated = -10.3 + 0.15*total number of female pheasants estimated in the protected area + 0.14* total number of young pheasants estimated in the protected area + 0.04*total surface of the protected area (R 2 = 0.48).

Body size and sexual dimorphism among a population of corsac and red foxes in central Mongolia

, Linnaeus, 1758), which are among the widestranging carnivores in northern and central Asia (Macdon-ald and Sillero-Zubiri 2004). Accounts of the corsac fox,based mainly on hunting records and anecdotal reports,suggest that males tend to be larger than females (Hept-ner and Naumov 1992, Poyarkov and Ovsyanikov 2004).Studies of the red fox, the widest ranging member of theCarnivora, also indicate that males tend to be heavierand larger than females in many populations (Ables1975,Davis 1977, Cavallini 1995, Macdonald and Reynolds2004), although in some areas, little dimorphism exists(Macdonald et al. 1999). In Mongolia, both the corsacand red fox occupy a broad zone of sympatry whichextends across the grassland steppe, semi-desert, anddesert ecozones of the country (Mallon 1985). Despitetheir expansive ranges, few published details of thephysical characteristics of either species exist in Mon-golia and other parts of northern and central Asia. Dataon red foxes from other regions are available for com-parison, but little morphological data on corsacs havebeen recorded, most of which are approximate.In 2004, we began a study of corsac and red foxbehavior and ecology in the Ikh Nart Nature Reserve ofcentral Mongolia (Reading et al. 2007). Our studyinvolved capturing, radio-collaring, and releasing individ-uals of both species to obtain information on rangingbehavior. During captures, we weighed and measuredfoxes prior to release. In this Short Note, we report theseweights and measurements and examine whether sexualdimorphism exists within each species to complementexisting knowledge on fox morphology.Ikh Nart Nature Reserve (hereafter Ikh Nart) is a rela-tively small protected area (666 km

Survey of pileated gibbon Hylobates pileatus in Thailand: populations threatened by hunting and habitat degradation

Seventeen protected areas in south-east Thailand were surveyed for the Endangered pileated gibbon Hylobates pileatus during April 2004–March 2005, with the objectives of establishing the species’ current distribution, obtaining approximate population estimates for the largest forest areas, and assessing threats to the species’ survival. Landsat images and a geographical information system were used to identify the remaining suitable habitat within the species’ range. We conducted auditory surveys to census the gibbon populations in the five largest protected areas of Khao Yai, Pang Sida, and Tab Lan National Parks, and Khao Soi Dao and Khao Ang Ru Nai Wildlife Sanctuaries. Small protected areas within the range of the pileated gibbon (five parks and seven sanctuaries) were also evaluated, using questionnaires and interviews with local staff and villagers. Approximately 3,800 km2 of suitable canopy forest with an estimated 3,000 breeding groups, containing c. 12,000 individuals, remain within the four largest areas of forest. Pileated gibbons are also still present in 10 of the smaller protected areas. The largest populations of pileated gibbon in Thailand should be viable over the long-term provided that hunting, habitat degradation and further fragmentation are controlled. Hunting is now the most significant problem, and gibbon densities are well below the carrying capacity of the habitat and declining. As patrolling is not sufficiently effective to control poaching, the cooperation and support of local villagers must be sought in future conservation efforts.

The Great Lakes in East Africa: biological conservation considerations for species flocks

The three largest water bodies of East Africa, Lake Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi contain an estimated number of 2,000 endemic cichlid fish species, in addition, to a mostly uncounted wealth of invertebrates. While the terrestrial diversity is reasonably well protected, as economic and touristic interests coincide with biological conservation strategies, this is not the case for most African lakes and rivers. Nonetheless, it must be promoted that these aquatic ecosystems also deserve protection. Conservation strategies for aquatic biota have so far been the same as for terrestrial environments, i.e., by declaring biodiversity hotspots national parks. Such parks also contain rivers and lake shores. Here, I argue that it seems questionable that this strategy will work, given strong micro-geographic structure of the species flocks and the great degree of local endemism. I suggest a novel strategy for protecting African Lake communities that accounts for local endemism, derived from recent molecular phylogenetic and phylogeographic studies on East African cichlid fishes. While connectivity is the major problem for terrestrial and marine national parks, to ensure a large enough effective population size of the protected animals, this is not the case in most taxa of African rivers and lakes, where local endemism prevails. For example, most littoral cichlid species are subdivided into numerous distinct “color morphs” with restricted distribution, and unlike marine fishes with planktonic larvae display brood care with small offspring numbers. It is argued that the establishment of “micro-scale protected areas,” a large number of small stretches of strictly protected coast line, each only some hundreds of meters long, is likely to work best to preserve the littoral communities in African lakes. Such protected zones can sustain a reasonably effective population size of littoral species, serve as protected spawning ground or nursery area for pelagic species, and at the same time re-seed neighboring populations that are exploited continuously. As long-term stability of littoral fishing grounds is in the immediate interest of village communities, such small protected areas should be managed and controlled by the local communities themselves, and supervised by governmental institutions.

Priority sites for conservation of land snails in Gabon: testing the umbrella species concept

ABSTRACTIn order to assess the potential for molluscan conservation of a protected area considered representative of regional megafauna, we sampled molluscs inside and outside Lopé National Park in Gabon. In the northern part of Lopé National Park, 116 stations were surveyed and 71 species collected. Outside the park, 37 stations yielded 96 species, including 71 in Lastoursville, a small limestone area where molluscs are significantly more abundant than in other collecting sites. Lastoursville is among the richest sites known for molluscs in Africa. Overlap between sampling areas was limited, with 20.0% of the species found only in Lopé National Park, and 40.8% of the species found only outside. This suggests that Lopé National Park does not protect the whole molluscan diversity of central Gabon. Given the high levels of allopatric diversity of tropical land snails, conservation strategies cannot be the same for snails and for wide‐ranging vertebrates. Protecting small areas with a high abundance and diversity of molluscs would be less expensive and as efficient for molluscan conservation as protecting large tracts of rainforest. Despite limited general knowledge of central African molluscs, robust estimates of site‐specific diversity can be produced. Limestone areas harbour a remarkable biodiversity: sites such as Lastoursville would be ideal candidates for small protected areas dedicated to the conservation of land snails, and would complement the role of large protected areas.

Presence of the muriqui (<i>Brachyteles hypoxanthus</i>) in a rural property in the vicinity of the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve, Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo


 
 
 
 This note reports on three sightings, in 2005, of muriquis in a forest on private land to the north of the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve. The forest there is dense montane evergreen forest. The sightings were of four, three and four individuals respectively, one of them including a female with an infant. We emphasize the importance of maintaining forest patches on private land and their role in enhancing the survival of populations of threatened species in small protected areas such as the Augusto Ruschi Biological Reserve.
 
 
 

Effects of hunting on guianan forest game birds

To assess the effect of on-going and of previous or near by hunting pressure on game birds in a neotropical rain forest (French Guiana), I compared species abundances between six hunted and disturbed areas, seven non-hunted and pristine areas and eight intermediate areas, undisturbed and not currently hunted, but formerly hunted or close to current hunting areas. I recorded all birds detected within 100 m-wide strip transects, walked at random through every forest type all day long. The frequency of records per 10 h and flock sizes on each transect were averaged over all surveys in each study site (N = 3025 h). Censused groups included terrestrial (tinamous, woodquails, curassow and trumpeter) and arboreal species (guans, macaws, parrots, toucans), but not waterbirds. The abundance of all game birds was higher in non-hunted than in hunted areas, though not always significantly for secretive understorey species (tinamous, guans, wood-quail) or canopy frugivores (parrots, macaws, toucans). The Black Curassow and Gray-winged Trumpeter exhibited the highest and most consistent increases (7–10-fold) and more so between intermediate and non-hunted sites than between hunted and intermediate sites. The mean flock size also increased along the hunting gradient, especially in flocking species (macaws, parrots, trumpeter). Low reproductive rates and/or seasonal movements may explain that hunting pressure could still be felt after hunting has ceased or when it persists only away from a given area. Such a persistent effect would affect some populations in small protected areas.

Home range behaviour of the monogamous Australian seahorse, Hippocampus whitei

We provide a quantitative account of local movements in the monogamous Australian species Hippocampus whitei, as a rare report of home range size in fishes living in seagrass habitats. Our study took place in shallow Posidonia seagrass beds in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), principally during January to March. Daily monitoring of individual seahorses during underwater observations revealed that both sexes maintained small and apparently undefended home ranges for several breeding cycles at least. Female home ranges were significantly larger than males, when analysed by both the minimum convex polygon and grid cell methods. Home range size was not correlated with either body size or seahorse density. Presumably, home ranges were small in H. whitei because camouflage (to avoid predation and to capture prey), mate fidelity and parental brooding meant they accrued little benefit (and potentially considerable cost) from moving more extensively. Sex differences in home range size may arise from constraints associated with male pregnancy. These fish are among the most sedentary of vertebrates, with relatively small home ranges equalled only by coral reef species. In terms of their conservation, relatively small protected areas may be sufficient to support breeding populations of H. whitei although that limited movement may result in considerable delays in the recolonisation of depleted areas.

A comparison of two mountain gorilla habitats in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

AbstractBwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda, is a small protected area (331 km2) within which there is large climatic and altitudinal variation. Therefore we compared habitat types and forest composition between two locations to investigate differences that may influence ecological conditions for large mammals, including endangered mountain gorillas. We demonstrate that there is considerable intersite variation in habitat types and spatial and temporal availability of vegetation resources of which the most apparent are the differences in species composition of plants and fruit availability. Buhoma (the lower altitude site) has a greater diversity of plant species and higher tree and shrub densities, yet has a much lower density of herbaceous vegetation eaten by gorillas compared with Ruhija. Fruit availability is significantly higher throughout the year in Buhoma compared with Ruhija. Both sites exhibit seasonal variation in fruit availability although they do not follow the same seasonal pattern, perhaps because of inherent asynchronous phenological differences amongst individual tree species. The results of this study are important because distribution and abundance of both terrestrial herbaceous vegetation and fruit resources are believed to influence aspects of feeding ecology for large mammals.

Patterns of Fish Movement on Eastern Tasmanian Rocky Reefs

We assessed small-scale movement patterns of fishes on three eastern Tasmanian reefs by divers visually resighting 1 040 individuals of 16 species marked with unique colour-coded tags. With the possible exception of the monacanthid Acanthaluteres vittiger, common species showed high fidelity to site, with individuals generally resighted <100 m from the initial tagging site and remaining near the tagging site throughout the 1 year duration of study. The wrasses Pictilabrus laticlavius and Notolabrus tetricus were more sedentary than Notolabrus fucicola and the monacanthids Meuschenia australis and Meuschenia freycineti. Body length, sex, water temperature and time since tagging had little influence on distance moved compared to variation between individuals, other than movement distance increasing with body length for N. tetricus. Movement patterns were generally consistent at all three sites, although mean distance moved by N. fucicola was double at Swanport and Return Point compared to Lobster Point. N. tetricus but not P. laticlavius emigrated from areas artificially cleared of macroalgae. The sedentary nature of most small- to medium-sized reef fish species, particularly labrids, indicates that relatively small (≈1 km diameter) marine protected areas should generally provide conservation benefits for these fishes but few `spillover' benefits in surrounding areas.

Forecasting the benefits of no-take human-made reefs using spatial ecosystem simulation

To forecast resource and fishery responses to artificial reefs deployed within no-take marine protected areas, we discuss an application of E cospace , a policy evaluation tool based on spatially explicit simulation of ecosystem dynamics. We analyse a recent initiative to establish human-made reefs inside Marine Special Areas in Hong Kong. Simulations commence with a static mass-balanced model of trophic flows among he functional groups of an ecosystem (E copath ), which is then used to structure dynamic simulations of the biomass fluxes in response to fishing (E cosim ). Spatial modelling is achieved through definition of dispersion, foraging, and predator avoidance parameters for each group in relation to a range of defined habitats (E cospace ). The ecosystem model comprised 27 functional groups and 7 sectors of the Hong Kong fishery, which were assumed to increase their catching power by 3% year −1 . Seven fishery sectors and gear types are defined, and their operations are simulated spatially to maximize operating profit within the areas where they are allowed to fish. Parameters for E copath , E cosim , fishery, and habitats were obtained from recent surveys and assessments. Additional parameter values were obtained from meta-analyses and other literature on fishes of the South China Sea. More than 250 fish species were assigned to reef-associated and non-reef-associated functional groups with the help of an expert consultation. Results express average spatial responses to fishing and protected reefs. First, E cospace was used to evaluate biomass responses and catch returns from a range of artificial reefs/marine protected area complexes in which size, perimeter, and corridor design were varied according to biogeographical theory. Benefits that might be deliberately forgone to obtain the cooperation of fishers by allowing them to fish designated reefs were also estimated. Secondly, five specific policy scenarios were evaluated using a spatial map of Hong Kong waters. Gains and losses to different fishery sectors were tracked, along with shifts in the species composition of the catches. While small protected areas with human-made reefs achieve little to avert collapse of the fisheries or a shift towards catches of low-value species, larger protected areas can do much to restore valuable fisheries for reef-associated fish. Precise results, but not the overall patterns, are sensitive to uncertainties in many model parameters. Copyright 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .

Can 'continuity indicator species' predict species richness or red-listed species of saproxylic beetles?

This study investigates the relationship between the abundance of wood-rotting fungus suggested as 'continuity indicator species' and environmental variables for the assemblage of saproxylic (wood-living) beetles associated with Fomitopsis pinicola fruiting bodies in a mature spruce forest in southeastern Norway. The presence of species thought to indicate continuity in old growth is one of the criteria used when finding and delineating small protected areas ('woodland key habitats') in Scandinavian forestry. Although it is clear that remnants of old-growth forest are important for many taxa, documentation as to which entities or species the indicator species indeed indicate is scarce. If stands with a continuous and unbroken input of dead wood have a unique assemblage of wood-rotting fungi, it seems relevant to ask if these stands also have a unique assemblage of rare saproxylic beetles. I find that the indicator species exhibit no significant correlations with beetle species richness or with the presence of red-listed saproxylic beetles as a group. The different characteristics of dead wood conditions are the most important environmental variables that explain both the species richness and the presence of red-listed beetles. Single-species analyses reveal contrasting relationships. The red-listed beetle Atomaria alpina shows a significant and positive association to the abundance of indicator species. Contrary, a group of three red-listed species with similar ecology in the family Cisidae exhibits a significant and negative association to indicator species abundance. This indicates that important patterns are concealed when considering general measures such as overall presence of red-listed beetles. Single-species studies are necessary in order to correctly understand how rare beetles respond to forestry activities and to develop a policy that can secure their continuing existence in the boreal forest.

Status and conservation of Hinde's Babbler Turdoides hindei, a threatened species in an agricultural landscape

Njoroge, P. & Bennun, L. A. 2000. Status and conservation of Hinde's Babbler Turdoides hindei, a threatened species in an agricultural landscape. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 69–72. Hinde's Babbler is a restricted-range species endemic to Central Kenya. In recent years it appears to have suffered a marked reduction of population within its range. Using active searching and playback of vocalisations, we assessed the species' status in three study areas (Kianyaga, Mukurweini and Machakos) between July 1993 and May 1994. Distribution of the babbler was closely linked to river valleys and swamps, and to the presence of dense thicket vegetation. In Kianyaga and Mukurweini, clearance for intensive cultivation has removed most natural vegetation. Here the babblers rely on small (ranging from 5 m2 to 0.81 ha) patches of the exotic weed Lantana camara for shelter and nest sites. In Machakos (a lower altitude site with less rainfall) the birds occurred in riverine thicket that has not yet been cleared. Densities in Machakos were substantially lower (0.81 individuals per km2) than in Kianyaga and Mukurweini (3.8 and 3.0 individuals per km2 respectively). A questionnaire survey of local people in Kianyaga showed that killing of birds for food and clearing of Lantana patches are serious threats to this species. Hinde's Babbler occurs in only one small protected area; its conservation within a severely modified agricultural landscape is a substantial challenge that calls for innovative approaches.