The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has issued a final rule granting endangered status to the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Mexican wolf subspecies was originally listed as endangered in 1976. The entire gray wolf species was later listed in 1978. The subspecies was incorporated in the gray wolf Southwest recovery plan, which dissolved the initial Mexican wolf listing. This new rule creates a separate entry for Mexican wolves under the ESA.

FWS also issued a final rule revising the regulations regarding management of the experimental Mexican wolf population, which is part of recovery efforts for the subspecies, in Arizona and New Mexico. The rule modifies the geographic boundaries for the experimental population and outlines procedures for reintroducing captive individuals to the wild. The plan aims to increase the population from the current 83 individuals to a goal of 300 to 325 individuals. The rule is aimed to balance between updating an outdated recovery plan and addressing concerns about the impact increased wolf populations may have on ungulate and livestock herds. This is the first major update to the plan since 1998.

The rule also clarifies when nonlethal and lethal measures are allowed to control problematic wolves that impact livestock as well as reporting guidelines for any unintentional take. It also provides allowances for control of wolves that have impacted ungulate herds if several provisions outlined in the plan have been met.

Some environmental groups have criticized the rule, noting that while an increase in geographic boundaries is positive, the population cap is too low and allows too many provisions for authorized take. State agencies have also opposed proposed management of the experimental population. In the past, the Arizona Game and Fish Department has stated that Mexican wolf recovery efforts need to be directed at re-establishing the subspecies within its historic range, which is mostly south of the U.S. border.

The plan will be implemented beginning in February. End-of-year counts will be used to estimate progress. Evaluation of population growth rates, impacts to wild ungulate herds, and adverse human-wolf interactions will occur 5 and 8 years after the plan’s implementation. Fish and Wildlife Service states that it plans to revise management actions if the wolf population exceeds the set goal of 325, with a preference for translocation of wolves to other populations.

Both the final listing of the Mexican wolves under the ESA and the final rule for the changes in regulation for the experimental population are available on the Federal Register.

Sources: E&E News PM (January 12, 2015), Greenwire (January 8, 2015)

The most endangered chimpanzee subspecies, the Nigeria-Cameroon (Pan troglodytes ellioti), not only faces threats of logging, agriculture, and illegal hunting, but a recent study shows that climate change also poses a threat to the animal’s habitat.

With 6,000 individuals in the wild, the Nigeria-Cameroon is the smallest of the four chimpanzee subspecies. Paul Clee, a graduate research fellow and author of the study published in BMC Evolutionary Biology, is part of one of very few research teams that studies this subspecies. As part of their research, the team observed the chimps in the wild and mapped their geographic locations based on reports of sightings. Researchers also noted evidence of activity including nests and tools, and collected fecal and hair samples for genetic analyses. Further, Clee, a GIS specialist, used niche modeling to determine that there are two populations of Nigeria-Cameroon chimps that are genetically distinct, even though they are part of the same subspecies. He found that the two genetically distinct groups exist in different geographical areas; one in the mountainous rainforests of the Northwest highlands and the other in central Cameroon, which is a mixture of forest, woodland and savanna.

“The research included GPS coordinates where the chimps exist combined with map layers of climate, precipitation and human population differences in habitat,” he said. “We took these two bits of information and created models of suitable habitats for the chimpanzees.”

The research showed that of the two genetically distinct groups, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimps in the ecotone habitat of central Cameroon were the most genetically connected to their habitat and most vulnerable to climate change.

Next, the team determined how climate change will affect these chimps in the future. They combined the population data with environmental characteristics of location including climate, slope, vegetation and tree cover to determine how habitat drives the distribution of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees.

Researchers travel down the Djerem River in central Cameroon to a field site in Mbam et Djerem National Park.
Image Credit: Paul Sesink Clee A researcher collects a chimpanzee fecal sample from the forest floor in Mbam et Djerem National Park for genetic analysis.
Image Credit: Matthew W. Mitchell A Nigeria-Cameroon chimp was rescued from illegal animal trafficking, and now lives in the Limbe Wildlife Center in Cameroon.
Image Credit: Paul Sesink Clee Researchers analyze climate data to help determine the effects of climate change on the Nigeria-Cameroon chimps’ habitat.
Image Credit: Mary Katherine Gonder Researchers process chimpanzee fecal samples for genetic analyses.
Image Credit: George Ghamu

Clee and his research team predicted climate change scenarios for the years 2020, 2050, and 2080 based on the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, taking into consideration the use of fossil and non-fossil fuels, human population growth, and environmental protection efforts.

“We can shift the habitat using the same modeling techniques to project into the future under different scenarios,” Clee said. “We found that the population within the ecotone of central Cameroon, separated by two rivers, is particularly under threat to climate change.”

Because the chimps in this ecotone are most reliant on their habitat, their population is most threatened. They are predicted to rapidly decline by the year 2020 and under the worst case scenario, can possibly disappear by 2080. Since about half of the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzees exist in this ecotone, and the population is already scarce, the research concludes that the Nigeria-Cameroon subspecies is greatly threatened.

Still, this does not necessarily mean that these chimps are doomed.

“It sounds really dismal but the models don’t account for adaptation or migration,” Clee said. “There is a chance that even with impeding climate change, they can migrate or adapt.”

He also said that although it is important to pay attention to the effects of climate change on the chimps, there are other things to take into consideration.

“There are more immediate threats to chimps including habitat loss by logging, agricultural, and hunting of primates for their meat in Central Africa,” he said. “This is all compounded by population growth of humans. Climate change is a big deal and chimps can lose their habitat, but there are so many other factors that are present as well.”

This video from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department shows a herd of bison (B. b. bison) with their playful babies at Caprock Canyon State Park in the north of the state. The animals are part of the official herd of the state of Texas numbering around 85 individuals, according to an article published last March on a local news site, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. The bison are descended from a herd conserved on the private ranch of the late Charles Goodnight in the 19^th century. His JA Ranch donated the remaining animals to the TPWD in 1996. They were subsequently relocated to the state park and declared the state’s official bison herd.

Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced a bill that would strengthen penalties for wildlife trafficking.

S. 27, also called the Wildlife Trafficking Enforcement Act, would provide law enforcement with the same tools to charge wildlife trafficking violations as other serious crimes. Under the bill, violations of the ban on shipment and sale of species and products made from species protected under Endangered Species Act, the African Elephant Conservation Act, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act would be prosecuted under federal money laundering and racketeering statutes if the violations have a total value of $10,000 or more.

Wildlife trafficking is an immediate threat to vulnerable species worldwide. In 2013, poachers killed more than 20,000 African elephants. Wildlife trafficking is estimated to generate $8 billion to $10 billion in illicit funds annually. Currently, the maximum sentence for wildlife trafficking in the U.S. is only one year. High demand for illegal animal products, such as ivory, and relatively low penalties for wildlife trafficking contribute to poaching around the world.

Criminal organizations often use money from wildlife trafficking to fund other illegal activities such as terrorism, human trafficking, and other threats to national and international security. Under the bill, wildlife trafficking would also be recognized as a “predicate offense,” which is a crime that provides underlying resources for other criminal acts. This bill would allow wildlife trafficking violations to be prosecuted under the same statutes as money laundering and racketeering.

Wildlife trafficking violations would be punishable with a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and fines up to $500,000. Harsher penalties will work to deter illegal taking and trafficking of animals. The bill also requires funds obtained from prosecution wildlife trafficking crimes to benefit affected species. Capital obtained through fines and the forfeiture of assets would be deposited into funds designated for conservation purposes.

The full text of S. 27 Wildlife Trafficking Enforcement Act is available, and the bill has bipartisan support.

Sources: Greenwire (January 7, 2015), Senator Feinstien Press Release (January 8, 2015).

No dog news is good news, at least as far as a cat is concerned.

A strategy currently used to control the spread of the infectious canine distemper virus (CDV) by vaccinating domestic dogs that likely first transmitted it to Serengeti lions (Panthera leo) may not be very effective for the big cats.

A new study released yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that while vaccination may control the disease in domestic dogs themselves, it may be necessary to take other measures including vaccination of lions (Panthera leo) to prevent further spread of this devastating disease among the cats and other vulnerable wildlife.

“[CDV] often kills the animals, so much that in 1994 approximately 1,000 lions in the Serengeti were killed,” said Mafalda Viana, a mathematical biologist at the University of Glasgow and the lead author of the study.

In 1996, wildlife managers and others began implementing programs to vaccinate domestic dogs in villages surrounding the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, hoping that would stop further transmission of the disease to the park’s lion population.

A lion with myoclonus, involuntary muscle spasms, possibly associated with previous infection with canine distemper virus during a 1994 outbreak.
Image Credit: Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project People line up with their dogs during a CDV vaccination campaign.
Image Credit: Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project A young child waits to have his puppy vaccinated against CDV during a vaccination campaign.
Image Credit: Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project Veterinarian Magai T. Kaare samples a dog during a CDV vaccination campaign.
Image Credit: Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project A young child holds a puppy for vaccination during a CDV vaccination campaign.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of the Serengeti Carnivore Disease Project

“Until now no one had looked at whether this vaccination program was actually working on the dogs or the lions,” said Viana. Her study found that while domestic dog vaccination helped dogs, it wasn’t enough to prevent lion infection as other species including jackals, hyenas, mongooses, and endangered African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), also infected with the disease, could be transmitting it to lions. In fact, African wild dogs have been badly hit by CDV with a pack of dogs near the Serengeti recently suffering more than a 90 percent mortality rate.

“We could start thinking about vaccinating endangered species directly,” Viana said about potential management strategies to stop the spread of CDV. However, since the vaccines currently used were developed with dogs in mind, their effectiveness with lions or other species is unknown. And even if the vaccinations used for domestic dogs may be safely translated to African wild dogs, “it’s not easy to go and catch a wild dog, and there are certain ethical aspects that should be considered.”

Some would also argue that it’s best not to interfere at all in cases involving wild animals. But Viana feels the discussion needs to happen, regardless of what is decided. Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) have been hit hard in the past few years due to CDV-related causes and scientists are discussing intervention with that species as well.

“Manipulating wildlife is never an easy decision,” Viana said.

Wildlife managers looking to categorize distinct population segments of some snakes could do well to start by naming their poison.

A new study released last week in the journal GENETICS shows that reptiles like the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) may have adapted their particular brand of venom to match the local fauna that lives in their particular neck of the woods.

An eastern diamondback rattlesnake from Sapelo Island, GA is delivering venom for proteomic analysis.
Image Credit: Joseph Pfaller

“For one species, the eastern diamondback, we found tons of variation,” said Darin Rokyta, an associate professor of biology at the Florida State University and the coauthor of the study.

He sampled over a hundred snakes in seven different populations of eastern diamondbacks from the Everglades to the Florida Panhandle. Five of these populations showed venoms that were distinct from each other in terms of the chemical make-up of their poison.

“We were shocked,” Rokyta said. “This is the first time anyone has looked at venom variation at this scale, and everybody has assumed that the co-evolutionary arms race would cause local populations to diverge quickly.”

The thinking goes that as the snakes continue to go after the same prey over the centuries, some of those animals will start to develop resistance to the snake venom. In response, the snake venom has to go through its own adaptive changes to keep on top of the game.

These findings are important because the eastern diamondback could be a threatened or endangered species in all or parts of its range.

“The obvious thing here is that the diamondback is currently being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act right now,” Rokyta said.

The fact that different populations have different venoms could be enough to differentiate them as distinct population segments that receive individual protection even if the whole species doesn’t.

The surprising thing is that Rokyta said testing venom is relatively easy to work with compared to DNA tests: “You can go out, milk a snake, and let it go right there.” It could also be a cheaper way to determine distinct populations. But conserving snakes for venom type is important as each snake may occupy its own particular ecosystem niche.

An adult eastern coralsnake from the central panhandle of Florida.
Image Credit: Kenny Wray

“It’s a long tube with a hole at either side. Without venom, they can’t survive,” Rokyta said. “If those populations go, you lose that entire type of venom.” He added that you couldn’t just replace those extinct populations with snakes from elsewhere as they may not do very well against a modified prey base.

Rokyta said that knowing genetic differences is important but that he would like to see more emphasis on functional differences such as those used by snakes with different venoms when conservation decisions are made about which populations should be saved.

But perhaps more surprising is that Rokyta’s study found another poisonous snake, the eastern corral snake (Micrurus fulvius), has the same brand of venom across its range, according to the study.

This could be due to a number of factors, he said. Possibly, the corral snakes could have a less diverse diet than the rattlers, making their venom more species specific and potent. Or they could be relatively newer in an evolutionary sense and haven’t had as much time to diverge as the diamondbacks.

“It could have nothing to do with the function of the venom; it could be a historical thing,” he said.

These findings are also important for developing anti-venoms — currently none exists for coral snake poison, and knowing the difference between diamondback venoms could allow for more effective treatment for bites from those snakes.