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UPDATES FROM REGIONAL SECTIONS AND WORKING GROUPS
ASIAOur first regional conference, Biodiversity Conservation in Asia, Current Status and Future Perspectives, will be held 17-20 November 2005 in Katmandu, Nepal. More than 150 speakers have registered, representing about 15 Asian countries. Details of the conference are available at www.conbio.org/Asia or from Linda Whittaker (olsvig2000@yahoo.com). Trans-boundary Biodiversity Conservation Between Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao PDR After completion of Management of the Phatam Protected Forests Complex to promote cooperation for trans-boundary biodiversity conservation between Thailand, Cambodia and Laos (Phase I), the Royal Forest Department (main agency) of Thailand and Forestry Administration of Cambodia jointly developed the trans-boundary project Phase II. Phase II will continue efforts to conserve biodiversity and extend the scope of project area to cover the Emerald Triangle Protected Forests Complex between Thailand, Cambodia, and Lao PDR. This project was approved by the International Tropical Timber Organization in December 2004 and is co-financed through that organization by Japan, Switzerland, and the United States. The objectives of the project are to strengthen cooperation between Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos for biodiversity conservation in trans-boundary conservation areas, enhance protection and monitoring of the biological resources along tri-national borders, and strengthen the involvement of local communities and stakeholders in sustainable uses and management of natural resources both in community enclaves within the protected areas and in the buffer zones. The project duration is 2005-2006. For more information, contact Yongyut Trisurat, Kasetsart University, Thailand (fforyyt@ku.ac.th). Sundarbans Mangrove Ecosystem and its Keystone Species Sundarbans (Bangladesh) mangrove forest is the largest contiguous mangrove ecosystem in the world. At 10,000 square km, it is also the largest wetland ecosystem with international importance for waterfowl habitats. The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is a focal species for biodiversity conservation management in the Sundarbans. Conservationists claim that Sundarbans harbors the largest population of tigers in south Asia. Sundarbans also acquired national and international protected area classifications; 23% of its total area has been designated as Sundarbans Wildlife Sanctuaries and United Nations World Heritage Sites. Use of the tiger as a keystone species and its impact on socioecological and economic considerations needs to be reviewed critically with the aim of formulating a management action plan for tiger conservation in the region. For more information visit www.conbio.org/Asia or contact Mohammed Ashraf, bengal_tiger010@yahoo.com. Jeff McNeely (JAM@iucn.org) reports, "Quite a lot is going on in Asia . . . just returned from two weeks in the region. I saw considerable evidence that the governments of India and China are both taking biodiversity issues seriously, and are seeking ways to improve protected area management. The recent extermination of tigers from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in India has had repercussions at the highest levels of government, with pledges to finally do something seriously. The country's most notorious poacher has been arrested, along with a substantial volume of illegal animal skins and other products. In China, major new projects with funding from the European Union and the GEF are working in biodiversity, an indication that the biological components of development in China are not being totally ignored. Further, increasing numbers of international NGOs are working in China and offer opportunities for the international civil society to express their support for conservation efforts in China."
Linda Whittaker
AUSTRAL AND NEOTROPICAL AMERICAThe Austral and Neotropical America Section recently held elections for six positions on the Board of Directors. Our new Board members are R. Medellín (México), President Elect; L. Aguirre (Bolivia), Membership and Programs; A. Sanchez-Azofeifa, Chief Financial Officer (re-elected); J. Jiménez (Chile), Conservation; J. Calvo (Costa Rica), Nominations, Policy, and Audit; and C. Olivo (Bolivia / Germany), Communications (formerly Director of Nominations, Policy, and Audit). The new Board members took office at SCB's 2005 annual meeting. Thank to outgoing Board members Martín Acosta (Cuba), Alfredo Cuarón (México), and Miguel Vázquez (Ecuador) for their service. In August 2005, the Section Board convened at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama City for its third annual meeting. The meeting focused on preparation of the 2006-2010 Strategic Development Plan. The Section has been quite active during 2005. In April 2005, we co-sponsored an intensive, graduate-level course, Advanced Topics in Conservation Biology, which was led by J.A. Simonetti and L. Aguirre at the Universidad Mayor de San Simon in Cochabamba, Bolivia. In addition, the Section prepared an analysis of regional needs for capacity building, published as Rodríguez, J.P., J.A. Simonetti, A. Premoli, and M.A. Marini. 2005. Conservation in Austral and Neotropical America: building scientific capacity equal to the challenges. Conservation Biology 19:969-972. The Section fostered the presence of SCB in the region, sponsoring the Primer Congreso de Mamíferos en Bolivia in Cochabamba, Bolivia in June 2005. The Section also supported the organization of SCB's 2005 annual meeting. Several Board members served on different committees such as plenary speakers and symposia (J.P. Rodríguez and J.A. Simonetti), student activities (C. Olivo) and student awards, and field trips (M. Lima). The Austral and Neotropical America Section also sponsored a joint symposium with the Africa Section, Enabling, Mainstreaming and Implementation: Putting Conservation Plans to Work in the Southern Hemisphere. Thanks to support from The Christensen Fund, the Section is sponsoring 31 new SCB members. Seven of these memberships were given as prizes for the best conservation-related papers delivered by students and young professionals at two scientific meetings, the Primer Congreso de Mamíferos en Bolivia (one prize) and the VIII Congreso de la Sociedad Mesoamericana para la Biología y la Conservación (SMBC), which will be held in Managua, Nicaragua in November 2005 (six prizes). Furthermore, the Section recently formed a committee to foster student participation in the Section's activities, and organized a network of regional academic centers in order to launch a series of videoconferences on conservation-related issues.
Cristian Olivo
AUSTRALASIAHello to all SCB members. Winter is now upon us, with concomitant academic session breaks, end of financial year dealings, grant applications or papers to write, and field schedules, school holidays, and conferences to juggle. Please remember that this is your newsletter. The Section Board does not just want to report to the membership on our activities, but would like to provide a sounding board for our members. Given that we live or work in a region with unique flora and fauna and, unfortunately, a host of conservation problems, we are convinced there must be many interesting issues, stories, and dilemmas out there. We are fortunate to have this forum for disseminating conservation research, policy, or management ideas and invite you to send articles, information, requests . . . just about anything that you would like to see aired. Section Elections Congratulations to the new members of the Section's Board of Directors: Craig Morely (Fiji), Richard Kingsford (Australia), and Brendan Mackay (Australia), and re-elected member Menna Jones (Australia). Roles for the new Board members will be discussed by October. Thanks to Caroline Gross for serving on the Board during the past three years. 2007 Annual Meeting Bid The Australasia Section's bid to host SCB's 2007 annual meeting in Wellington, New Zealand was unsuccessful, so the Section is proposing an inaugural regional conference in 2007. The Section intends to draw conservation biologists together regularly at a meeting in our region. Planning for the regional meeting is being coordinated by Rob Davis. If you are interested and able to assist, please contact Rob (rob@graduate.uwa.edu.au). Thanks to our dedicated and committed members who put so much time and effort into the 2007 bid. We are particularly indebted to Charles Daugherty, Allan Wilson, and Nicola Nelson. We also thank Susan Keall, Ben Bell, Fred Allendorf, David Towns, Carolyn Lundquist, and Karen Firestone. Upcoming Events Several upcoming conferences may be of interest to conservation biologists. This list is not comprehensive. If you would like something listed in the future, please contact us. Australian Network for Plant Conservation
Australasian Wildlife Management Society
Ecological Society of Australia
Invertebrate Biodiversity and Conservation
Australasian Ornithological Conference (6-10 December 2005) www.birdsaustralia.com.au/aoc/ Board Activities Following up on the successful Board meeting held at Taronga Zoo in 2004, and the election of new officers, the Section Board will meet for the third time. Among the items for discussion will be the future direction of the Section and future conferences. Matters from Section members are welcome and can be addressed to any of the Board members. The Section's Strategic Planning Committee is Rob Davis, Karen Firestone (kfirestone@unsw.edu.au), Brendan Mackey (brendan.mackey@anu.edu.au), and Menna Jones (menna.jones@utas.edu.au). We welcome other committee members. A draft strategic plan will be made available for member comment before finalization. Student Awards The Australasia Section awarded a number of student prizes this year, most recently at the combined meeting of the Genetics Society of Australasia and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, held 19-23 June. The best spoken conservation paper, as judged by a GSA committee, was presented by Ph.D. student Dominique Sigg. Strong evidence of fine-scale spatial genetic structure and male-biased dispersal within the only known remnant population of an endangered macropod Dominique P. Sigg, Anne W. Goldizen, and Andrew J. Lowe.
The bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) has declined from an extensive range covering semi-arid eastern Australia to a single population of fewer than 500 animals. Furthermore, animals are patchily distributed in small areas of suitable habitat within the protected remnant. We used 7 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci to examine the genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure of bridled nailtail wallabies within and among these patches. We found that bridled nailtail wallabies had one of the highest levels of heterozygosity (0.821) and allelic diversity (12.57) recorded for any marsupial. Significant spatial genetic structuring was detected between patches separated by just four km, suggesting reduced gene flow between patches of suitable habitat. Both direct and indirect measures of gene flow revealed that dispersal between patches was male-biased. Isolation by distance and spatial genetic autocorrelation methods also revealed highly significant spatial genetic structure among females, but not males, within a continuous patch of animals covering just 750 ha, providing evidence of strong female philopatry and male-biased dispersal. We suggest that genetic diversity can be maintained in remnant populations of endangered species and that the spatial genetic structure and dispersal characteristics observed in this study may contribute to this. However, further studies are required to ascertain whether this diversity will be eroded in the future.
Nicky Nelson, Karen Firestone, and Rob Davis
EUROPEEuropean conservation biology was well represented at SCB's 2005 annual meeting with almost 100 papers presented by European authors from 18 countries. We look forward to a growing European presence at SCB's annual meetings as the international profile and membership of SCB grows. Although only a small number of members attended the Section Meeting in Brasilia, there were many opportunities to meet informally throughout the week. Another opportunity to meet will be much closer to home at the British Ecological Society annual meeting in Hatfield, England in September. Members of the Section Board have been invited to present a symposium on conservation biology in Europe and no doubt many of our Section members will be attending; if you are there, please take the time to introduce yourself. The Section Board continues to work to enhance the profile and reputation of the Section among practitioners, academics, and government administrators at both the national and European level and this symposium gives us an excellent opportunity to introduce both the discipline of conservation biology and the Section, as well as a chance to promote the European Congress of Conservation Biology. We are now less than 12 months away from the first European Congress of Conservation Biology and we are pleased to announce our first three plenary speakers: Georgina Mace (OBE, FRS), Institute of Zoology (London) and SCB President Elect; Sir John Lawton (CBE, FRS), retired Chief Executive of the Natural Environment Research Council (United Kingdom); and Bob Pressey, National Parks and Wildlife Service (Australia). A list of symposia and workshops will be posted on the Congress Web site, www.eccb2006.org, by 15 October. We encourage you to visit the site for up-to-date information. The Education Committee is continuing its work to compile a database of undergraduate and graduate conservation education opportunities across Europe. If you would like to work with this committee or simply wish to provide information about opportunities in your country or at your institution, please contact chair Renato Massa, renato.massa@unimib.it. Once again the Board encourages the participation of Section members in Section activities. To contact the Europe Section Board with any questions or comments send an email to europe@conservationbiology.org.
Owen Nevin
MARINEShort Course Carolyn Lundquist (Past President, Board of Directors) and John Cigliano (Science and Education Coordinator, Board of Directors) taught a short course on marine ecology and conservation at SCB's 2005 annual meeting. The course was attended by six undergraduate students (two from Peru, four from Brazil) and a master's student from the United States. It was an intensive but thoroughly enjoyable two days. Hugh Possingham guest lectured on conservation planning. All participants received a free copy of the new textbook Marine Conservation Biology by Elliott Norse and Larry Crowder, courtesy of Island Press. Board Meeting The Section's Board of Directors met in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada) from 25-29 July. The meeting was hosted by Norm Sloan, International Coordinator for the Section and Marine Ecologist and Ecosystem Coordinator for the Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve. The Board discussed plans for SCB's 2006 annual meeting. We would like to have a strong marine presence at the meeting so we encourage members to submit symposium proposals and abstracts to the 2006 steering committee. Section Newsletter To better communicate with the Marine Section membership and to engender greater activity by the Section, the Marine Board has decided to begin publishing a quarterly newsletter that will be distributed by email to Section members. We will be sending an email in the near future soliciting suggestions for the name of the newsletter, content, and volunteers to contribute to the newsletter. Please send any suggestions to John Cigliano, jaciglia@cedarcrest.edu.
John Cigliano
NORTH AMERICAThe Society for Conservation Biology's 2005 annual meeting is several months behind us, and by all accounts was a great success. The Universidade de Brasilia was a wonderful host for SCB's largest annual meeting to date. During the 2005 meeting, SCB's Board of Governors decided to hold the 2007 annual meeting in Port Elizabeth, South Africa and the 2008 annual meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. The Section Board has been asked to consider the possibility of hosting a regional meeting every other year, during years in which SCB's annual meeting is held outside of North America. Clearly, there are numerous costs and benefits to regional meetings. On the one hand, holding a regional meeting in North America may increase the probability that members with limited travel funds would be able to attend an SCB meeting, meetings could be smaller, and topics could be targeted at conservation in North America. On the other hand, the financial risks and logistics of coordinating a meeting are large and complex, and it is not yet clear whether the Section has sufficient resources to orchestrate regional meetings on an ongoing basis. Thus, the Section Board decided to poll you, the Section membership, on the subject of a North America Section meeting. The poll is simple and can be accessed online at www.conbio.org/NA/Survey/. The poll has just five questions plus an option to provide additional written comments, all of which should require less than five minutes of your time. Please help the Board by taking those few minutes to send us your thoughts on this subject. We can't do what's right for the membership if we don't know what the membership wants.
Steve Trombulak
FRESHWATER WORKING GROUPFreshwater conservation was well represented at SCB's 2005 annual meeting, with six freshwater-oriented symposia and many other freshwater talks and posters. It was also a wonderful experience for our colleagues from Austral and Neotropical America, many of whom told us how pleased they were to have a large international meeting entirely devoted to conservation occur on their continent. We urged symposia speakers to submit their freshwater manuscripts to Conservation Biology. We had a lively Working Group meeting in Brasilia, with discussion of possible future group activities and ideas for freshwater symposium proposals for the SCB's 2006 annual meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting, Robin Abell stepped down as our first coordinator and Ken Vance-Borland was chosen as her successor. Many thanks to Robin for her hard work and devotion to freshwater conservation. We also thank SCB for supporting the various freshwater symposia by providing travel assistance to many speakers. We still need volunteers to join committees: student affairs, communications, symposia / workshops, outreach, and social. If you would like to join or learn about a committee, or work with the Freshwater Working Group in other ways, please contact Ken Vance-Borland (ken.vance-borland@oregonstate.edu). You also may visit the Freshwater Working Group Web site, www.conbio.org/freshwater, to sign up for the listserv and read minutes from past meetings.
Ken Vance-Borland and Robin Abell
SOCIAL SCIENCE WORKING GROUP500 Members! The Social Science Working Group (SSWG) recently passed the 500 member mark! Since our establishment in October 2003, we have grown rapidly to include 528 members from 52 countries. In the coming year, we look forward to continued membership growth in membership and to broader engagement in our activities. If you are interested in participating in our efforts to strengthen conservation social science research and its application to conservation practice, please contact SSWGBD@conbio.org. We look forward to working with you! Board Elections The SSWG is pleased to announce the results of its first Board elections. The elected Board currently includes nine members, with open seats in anthropology and psychology. Terms were staggered to ensure continuity on the Board; starting in 2006, all Board representatives will be elected to two-year terms. Current Board members are
Many thanks to the outgoing members of the SSWG Interim Board, Kate Christen, Brian Czech, Amity Doolittle, Mahesh Gaur, Kimberley Marchant, and Carol Saunders, for their leadership over the past year. Student Awards The SSWG is also pleased to announce the results of its student membership awards competition. With support from The Christensen Fund, the SSWG awarded memberships in SCB to twelve students with an interest and experience in the application of social science to biodiversity conservation. The award winners are Bayasgalan Amgalan, Mongolia, National University of Mongolia
Criteria for selection were student status in 2005-2006, conservation biology and social science application (how their studies and / or interest incorporate the two), perceived benefit of affiliation with SCB / SSWG (what they identified as the benefit of their membership to their career and / or studies), and relevance and quality of their essay. Each will each receive a one-year SCB membership and subscriptions to Conservation Biology and Conservation In Practice. SSWG Symposium With support from The Christensen Fund, the SSWG sponsored the symposium Conservation and the Social Sciences: Lessons from the Field at SCB's 2005 SCB annual meeting. Speakers presented case studies from around the world (Bolivia, Fiji, Liberia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Uganda, and the United States) that highlighted the successful application of social science tools and approaches to conservation practice. The SSWG is currently planning to develop a series of working papers based on these case study presentations. The Christensen Fund supported the participation of the following symposium speakers:
SSWG Workshop The SSWG also sponsored the workshop Social Science Tools for Conservation Practitioners: Current Opportunities and Future Directions at SCB's 2005 annual meeting. Mike Mascia opened the workshop by briefly introducing several social science-based conservation tools to the 40-60 participants. Participants then divided into three groups to brainstorm social science tools not identified in the initial presentation and gaps not addressed by existing social science tools. The workshop provided the SSWG with extensive information to build on as it sets priorities and defines its activities for the coming year. Workshop minutes, which include a full list of the tools and gaps identified, can be obtained from Nejem Raheem, nejemraheem@yahoo.com. Members' Meeting The SSWG hosted its annual members' meeting at SCB's 2005 annual meeting. Sixteen individuals attended the meeting. We reviewed the SSWG's brief history and recent activities, announced the results of Board elections, and discussed future activities. These future activities include organizing symposia, workshops, short courses, and other events at SCB's 2006 annual meeting; revising the SSWG Web page; compiling and delivering social science-based conservation tools; and developing Terms of Reference for common conservation social science activities. Minutes from the meeting can be obtained from Nejem Raheem. The Board welcomes volunteers to help develop and implement these SSWG activities. Please contact SSWGBD@conbio.org if you are interested in volunteering.
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