Conservation of freshwater fish in the British Isles: the current status and biology of threatened species

Biological Conservation 1992, 60, 145-148

Selected Abstracts The abstracts reproduced here have been selected from the coverage of Ecological

Abstracts. Further information on Ecological Abstracts, and the associated online database GEOBASE is available from Elsevier/Geo Abstracts, Regency House, 34 Duke Street, Norwich NR3 3AP, UK. same people who carry out the manipulations. No adverse environmental or health effects have been detected as a result. -from Authors

NATURE CONSERVATION General

Species conservation

92Z/00001 Nature conserration 2: the role of corridors ed D. A. Saunders & R. J. Hobbs, (Surrey Beatty, Chipping Norton, NSW), ISBN (hardback) 0 949324 35 3, price A$80.00, 1991, 442 pp, index. These proceedings of a conference held in Western Australia in 1989 present information on landscape corridor function, including practical advice on issues relating to corridor management. The 38 chapters are divided into four sections: inventory and assessment of corridors; values of corridors; movement of biota; and management, establishment, maintenance and rehabilitation. Each section is introduced by a theoretical review. Papers cover work on aspects of landscape corridors, mainly in Australia, but also in Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA. The penultimate chapter contains summaries of most of the workshop discussions held, and the final chapter is the editors' views on the outcome of the conference and where research and management should be directed in the future. The principal findings of the conference are published separately in a 21-page booklet (ISBN 0 949324 38 8), in a form designed for use by land managers in the management of linear remnants for nature conservation. -J.W.Cooper

92Z/00005 Effects of fencing and ground p r e p a r a t i o n on n a t u r a l regeneration of native pinewood over 12 years in Glen Tanar, A b e r d e e n s h i r e Y . L . Gong, M. D. Swaine & H. G. Miller, Forestry, 64(2), 1991, pp 157-168. If removal of ground cover is used to enhance Pinus sylvestris seed germination, the exposed seedlings may need to be protected from browsing by fencing. -from Authors

922/00006

Conservation

of

the

British

National

Begonia Collection by m i c r o p r o p a g a t i o n B . G . Bowes & E. W. Curtis, New Phytologist, 119(1), 1991, pp 169-181. Regeneration was investigated in non-sterile leaf explants taken from 87 Begonia lines. -from Authors 92Z/00007 I n s t r e a m flow requirements for cottonwoods at Bishop Creek, Inyo County, California J . C . Stromberg & D. T. Patten, Rivers, 2(1), 1991, pp 1-11. Annual radial growth of 3-4 mm is necessary for maintenance of healthy tree canopies. The flow volume needed to produce such a growth rate is three to four times greater than diversion flows, and 40-60% of estimated natural flow volumes. The inadequacy of diversion flows is evidenced in the low growth rates, low canopy vigor, and high mortality of Populus. -from Authors

922/00002 Agroforestry for tropical rain forests H.J. Von Maydell, Agroforestry Systems, 13(3), 1991, pp 259-267. Among agroforestry's main objectives are soil conservation and soil improvement in order to promote crop production and animal husbandry. Thus, as a rule, the forestry components and management practices are primarily used to serve agriculture on agricultural lands. Destruction of tropical rain forests calls for an urgent reorientation of land use in order to integrate different requirements and maintain overall sustainability. -from Author

92Z/00008

Conserving the freshwater pearl mussel

(Margaritifera nmrgariHfera L.) in the British Isles a n d

92Z/00003 The effects of restricted volumes of soil on the growth and development of street trees J. Kopinga, Journal of Arboriculture, 17(3), 1991, pp 57-63. The dimensions of a planting hole that are necessary to meet a street tree's demands can be estimated based on the water balance and the nitrogen supply. - f ~ m Author

continental Europe M . R . Young, Aquatic Conservation, 1(1), 1991, pp 73-77. The freshwater pearl has continued to decline in recent decades throughout the European range, apparently caused mainly by pollution (especially by organic enrichment) and, in the British Isles, by a combination of this and overfishing for pearls. Of particular concern is the almost complete absence of juveniles in most populations, with these occurring in numbers only in a very few rivers in remote locations. This mussel is now completely protected in most European countries and in Britain the government has made it an offence to kill or harm it. -from Author

92Z/00004 Implications for the release of genetically engineered organisms R . W . Pickup, J. A. W. Morgan, C. Winstanley & J. R. Saunders, Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 70(SuppL), 1991, pp 19S-30S. There have been no cases reported in which an organism has become a disease problem as a result of receiving recombinant DNA. Despite the guidelines and safety procedures which have been developed for low category containment manipulation of micro-organisms, unintentional release of GEMs has occurred consistently; 10 billion recombinants escape containment each year carried by the

922/00009 Conservation of freshwater fish in the British Isles: the current status and biology of threatened species P . S . Maitland & A. A. Lyle, Aquatic Conservation, I(1), 1991, pp 25-54. Two of the 55 freshwater species known in the British Isles are thought to be extinct there and eight are believed to be under significant threat: sturgeon Acipenser sturio, allis shad Alosa alosa, twaite shad Alosa fallax, Arctic chart Salvelinus alpinus, houting Coregonus oxyrinchus (extinct), powan Coregonus lavaretus, pollan Coregonus autunmalis, vendace Coregonus albula, smelt Osmerus

Biological Conse~aliun 0006-3207/92/$05.00 © 1992 Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd. 145

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Selected Abstracts

eperlanus and burbot Lota Iota (extinct). There are also several races of commoner species worthy of special conservation measures: the purely freshwater race of river lamprey Lampetrafluviatilis in Loch Lomond, dwarf brook lamprey Lampetra planeri in the Inner Hebrides, spineless three-spirted stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus in the Outer Hebrides and a number of important races of brown trout Salmo trutta in various waters in Ireland and Scotland. There is also a range of fish communities in individual rivers and lakes which merit conservation attention. These are important for a variety of reasons, including high (and very low) diversity, unique assemblages, pristine stocks and highly characteristic communities. The major threats to these species and communities include industrial and domestic pollution, acidification, land use changes, river barriers, drainage, fish fanning, fishery management and the introduction of new species. -from Authors 927,/00010 A method for estimating spill effectiveness for passing juvenile salmon and its application at Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River J. W. Wilson, A. E. Giorgi & L. C. Stuehrenberg, Canadian Journal of Fisheries & Aquatic Sciences, 48(10), 1991, pp 1872-1876. Outlines a method for estimating spill effectiveness and its sampling variance using a multinomial model with categories defined on the basis of information recovered from radio tagged fish. The method is applied to data from chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha juveniles. For two release conditions, one with 20 and the other with 40% of the total water volume going through the spillway, the maximum likelihood estimates of spill effectiveness were 41 and 61%, respectively. -from Authors 92Z/00011 Heroes in a half shell C. Norris, Green Magazine, 2(5), 1991, pp 36-43. Sea turtle and terrapin breeding beaches are often prime sites for tourist developments; they are killed for their flesh and shells; become entangled in fishing nets; and there has been a great increase in the trade of hatchlings as pets. -M.Dean 92Z/00012 The status and conservation of Jamaica's threatened and endemic forest avifauna and their habitats following Hurricane Gilbert N. Varty, Bird Conservation International, 1(2), 1991, pp 135-151. Despite serious and widespread hurricane damage to the natural forests of Jamaica, populations of the endemic ring-tailed pigeon Columba caribaea, crested quail-dove Geotrygon versicolor, black-billed parrot Amazona agilis, yellow-billed parrot A. collaria, blue mountain vireo Vireo osburni and Jamaican blackbird Nesopsar nigerrimus appear to have survived Hurricane Gilbert (1988) well. However, the expected reduction in food supplies, notably for the fimgivores, caused by the severe damage to many trees, coupled with continuing and in some cases increasing human destruction and disturbance of the forests, puts the longer-term survival of these species in some doubt. Establishment of functioning protected areas encompassing the key forest regions for these birds; upgrading and more rigorous enforcement of the legislation governing conservation and management of wildlife and the natural forests; and the control and improvement of agricultural Pthractices around forest areas, would greatly help to ensure e preservation of the forest avifanna. -from Author 92Z/00013 Improved breeding success of great. winged petrels Pterodroma macrop~ra following control of feral cats Felis catus at subantarctic Marion Island J. Cooper & A. Fourie, Bird Conservation International, 1(2), 1991, pp 171-175. A population of feral domestic cats has existed at Marion Island since 1951. From 1977-1990 an onl[oing programme has utilized an introduced disease, shooting and gin-trapping in an endeavour to control cat numbers. Burrowing petrels (Procellariidae) form the majority of the cats' diet. The breeding success of the winter-breeding great-winged petrel has varied between nil and 20.5% in 1979-1984, due primarily to cat predation of chicks causing up to 100% mortality. In 1990, by which time cat numbers had been

greatly reduced from their 1970's p e a k , great-winged petrels had a breeding success of 59.6%, with chick mortality being zero. No signs of cat predation were observed. -from Authors 92Z/00014 Survival, growth, and reproduction of captive-reared sage grouse G. D. Johnson & M. S. Boyce, Wildlife Society Bulletin, 19(1), 1991, pp 88-93. Providing large quantities of insects and green vegetation is imp.ortant for maintaining high survival and growth in juvenile Centrocercus urophasianus. Feedin~ sagebrush may be required to maintain adult birds over winter. -from Authors 92Z/00015 Trade and the conservation status of the family Psittacidae in Venezuela P. Desenne & S. D. Strahl, Bird Conservation International, 1(2), 1991, pp 153-169. An assessment of trade in parrots throughout Venezuela, 1988-1989, reveals high internal and international levels. The large macaws suffer badly from both types of trade, but owing to its restricted range the endemic Amazona barbadensis is perhaps the most critically threatened species. Other species are assessed and, along with key sites, identiffed in priority order for remedial action. -from Authors 92Z/00016 The grey-necked picathartes Picathartes oreas and Ibadan malimbe Malimbus ibadanensis in Nigeria J. S. Ash, Bird Conservation International, 1(2), 1991, pp 93-106. Picathartes oreas was found in various forested areas of SE Nigeria in February 1987, an event followed in September-October by the discovery of 91 breeding sites, reflecting a total population in the order of 500-1000 birds. Since then a further three breeding sites have been added. Forest destruction was a major threat to this population, but killing of birds was also a problem. Conservation education, guarding of some sites, and development of a national park in the area, were recommended protective measures; good progress is being made in their implementation. Malimbus ibadanensis, endemic to SW Nigeria, had not been seen since 1980; in October-November 1987 a survey produced observations of at least three in secondary woodland, and subsequently the species was found nearby. -from Author 92Z100017 Conservation status and vocal and morphological description of the Grand Comoro scops owl Otus pauliani Benson 1960 M. Herremans, M. Louette & J. Stevens, Bird Conservation International, 1(2), 1991, pp 123-133. Otuspauliani is confined to forest on Mount Karthala. The population could well be >1000 pairs but there remains a long-term threat from forest loss through habitat fragmentation and the spread of the Indian myna Acridotheres tristis. -from Authors 92Z/00018 Red-cockaded woodpecker use of seedtree/shelterwood cuts in eastern Texas R . N . Conner, A. E. Snow & K. A. O'Halloran, Wildlife Society Bulletin, 19(1), 1991, pp 67-73. If a timber regeneration cut is necessary around active Picoides borealis colonies, irregular shelterwood cutting would benefit the woodpecker by providing more nesting habitat than clear-cutting. -from Authors 92Z/00019 Conserving the Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus seehelle:tsis by transiocation: a transfer from Cousin Island to Aride Island J. Komdeur, I. D. Bullock & M. R. W. Rands, Bird Conservation International, 1(2), 1991, pp 177-185. The Seychelles warbler was once a highly threatened sintie-island endemic species with a population of 26 individuals confined to Cousin Island in the inner Seychelles. Following long-term management of Cousin, the population steadily recovered to c300-360 birds. This paper describes the successful translocation of 29 Seychelles warblers from Cousin to Aride, summarizes the ecological studies carried out prior to, during and after the transloca-