RESEARCH GRANT REPORTS
Reports on Projects Supported by BOU Research Grants
1995-1997
The Sichuan Partridge Forest Conservation Project and associated ornithological
exploration during 1997: an update by R. P. Martins
Bird Survey work was undertaken under the direction of Dr. S D Dowell (Liverpool John
Moores University), part-funded through the BOU Bird Exploration Fund, as part of the
Sichuan Partridge (alternatively Sichuan Hill-Partridge) Arborophila rufipectus
Forest Conservation Project. This was initiated in 1995 (Dowell1995) in response to
concern that this species is one of the most seriously threatened Eurasian Galliformes.
The 1997 fieldwork had four specific aims:
- To evaluate Sichuan Partridge population densities, using transect-based censusing
methods in previously unsurveyed seasonally subtropical remnant forest tracts.
- To assess the distribution, abundance and status of threatened or restricted-range
species occurring within the southern sector of the Central Sichuan Mountains Endemic Bird
Area, as identified through analysis by BirdLife International (Stattersfield et al.
1997), in a region of partial overlap with the Chinese Subtropical Forest Endemic Bird
Area.
- To evaluate the status and distribution of other forest birds within the study area.
- To assess the impact of changing forest management policies and practices, particularly
replanting, in the wake of clear-felling, on the survival prospects of Sichuan Partridge
and other threatened or poorly-known species.
Sichuan Partridge populations were censused at eleven locations within six forest
tracts in Ebian, Leibo and Mabian counties within the Daliang Shan, south-central Sichuan,
and Pingshan, Suijiang and Yongshan counties within the Wumeng Shan, north-eastern Yunnan
(In Yunnan records were only of vocalisations heard). Provisional analysis of transect
data (Dowell et al.1997) generates a mean population density estimate of 0.24
calling males per square kilometre in climax forest.
In addition to Sichuan Partridge, important information gathered on other threatened or
poorly-known species included: Red-winged Laughing-thrush Garrulax formosus - found
extensively through a broad range of habitats and elevations being most numerous in
secondary successional habitats; Emei Shan Liocichla Liocichla omeiensis - populations
varied substantially between sites being largest in secondary forest and disturbed
habitats with extensive stands of bamboo; Gold-fronted Fulvetta Alcippe variegaticeps
- rare and highly localised with distribution apparently strongly correlated with that of
small stream valleys, extensive bamboo and arboreal moss; the recently described Emei Leaf
Warbler Phylloscopus emeiensis - recorded, locally commonly, as a breeding species
within eight forest tracts through an approximate elevational range from 1,200 to 2000
metres, within the seasonally subtropical forest zone and Silver Oriole Oriolus
mellianus - widespread in limited numbers and perhaps not exclusively restricted to
climax forest.
Project observations strongly suggest a need to revise the designated threat status
(IUCN criteria) of Gold-fronted Fulvetta, previously listed as ‘vulnerable’ but
more appropriately ‘endangered’. The occurrence of Emei Leaf Warbler represents
a southward extension of known breeding range and a substantial increase in the number of
sites from which the species has been recorded as a known or presumed breeder.
Additional notable observations included a nest and egg within three metres of two
sightings of Black-tailed Crake Porzana bicolor, on different dates, observations
of locally common breeding populations of Brown Bush Warbler Bradypterus luteoventris
and Russet Bush Warbler B. seebohmi. Following clarification of field
identification criteria, including vocalisations, further documentation of the ranges of
these species is needed. White-winged Magpie Urocissa whiteheadi, apparently at the
northern limits of known range, was encountered at two localities on five dates.
Information was collected on the distribution and status of breeding (or apparent
breeding) forest species constituting Sino-himalayan elements. Breeding bird communities
of the higher altitude upland areas surveyed demonstrate small, but nonetheless
substantial, Sino-himalyan influence. This phenomenon apparently persists in small
isolated areas on higher peaks, eastward (through north-west Guangdong for example),
toward areas of stronger Sino-himalyan influence in north-west Fujian and Taiwan.
Extinction of the Sichuan Partridge within fifty years appears certain if forestry
management practices, which currently favour industrially-driven clear felling, persist.
This practice threatens the entire range of middle-altitude ecological communities.
Zoogeographical and conservation priority criteria identify the Sichuan Partridge as an
ideal flagship species through which conservation measures may be most convincingly
advanced in this region. The future goals of the project will include a more rigorous
examination of the species’ ecological requirements and general biology through
radio-tracking studies, examination of the efficacy of linking corridors and watershed
forest strips as forest management measures and survey work in lower altitude forest
adjacent to the Dafending Giant Panda Reserve.
- Dowell, S.D. (1995) Current status and future prospects for the Sichuan hill-partridge. WPA
News 49: 6-13.
- Dowell, S.D., Dai Bo, Martins, R.P. and Williams, R.S.R. (1997) Sichuan Hill-partridge
Forest Conservation Project - Report on the 1997 Field Season. Unpublished report to the
World Pheasant Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department
- Stattersfield, A.J., Crosby, M.J., Long, A.J. and Wege, D.C. (1998). Endemic Bird
Areas of the World, Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. Cambridge,UK:
BirdLife International.
Taken from Ibis 141 (1) January 1999
Preliminary report of the Flores ’97 Expedition – John Pilgrim
Awarded a BOU Research Grant in 1997
From July to September 1997, The Flores ’97 Expedition (a University of East
Anglia conservation project) combined surveys of potentially valuable forest areas with
specific searches for bird species of conservation concern on the islands of Flores, Nusa
Tenggara, Indonesia. The project aimed to increase knowledge of priority areas and species
for future conservation on the island.
Four main sites were surveys, with fieldwork initially focused on the Walo Tado reserve
at Ruing on the north coast. This nature reserve was set up to protect an area of
dry-deciduous monsoon forest in a continuous gradient from sea level to 700m; but little
was previously known about the biological value of the reserve. Although the forest is
exceptionally dry during the summer, it supports a surprisingly diverse avifauna,
including 11 restricted-range species. Of these, Flores Green Pigeon Treron floris
and Sumba Cicadabird Coracina dohertyi are classified as near-threatened while
Flores Crow Corvus florensis (a Flores endemic) is threatened (vulnerable). Several
organisations have been studying the socio-economic effects of the reserve and we hope our
findings will aid them in helping locals appreciate their rich resources.
An isolated, unprotected area of semi-evergreen rainforest and sparse deciduous monsoon
forest, inland of Riung, provided an unexpected second site as, with local guidance, we
found the largest known flock of Yellow-crested Cockatoos Cacatua sulphurea on
Flores. This species is endangered and was thought to have been virtually extirpated on
the island by hunting for international trade. The existence of this small remnant
population provides some hope for the future of the species on Flores. Our brief visit to
this promising area also provided our largest recorded flock of Treron floris.
The next area visited, the Ruteng massif, necessitated a change to intensive nocturnal
fieldwork in an attempt to find Flores Scopsowl Otus (magicus) alfredi. This
species was only previously known from four specimens, of which just one was collected
this century. Although there is debate over its taxonomic status, Otus alfredi is
increasingly and justifiably being treated as a full species; endemic to the island. Out
efforts produced the first field sighting, at Lake Rana Mese. Unfortunately, the lowland
evergreen rainforest around the lake currently has only limited protection as a recreation
forest.
Our last site was a previously unstudied area of unprotected lowland moist deciduous
forest in the district of Golo Bilas, west Flores. This was one of the most exciting areas
as it supported three of the four island endemics (Wallace’s Hanging-parrot Loriculus
flosculus, Flores Monarch Monarcha sacerdotum, and Flores Crow Corvus
florensis), all of which are threatened. The discovery of the former two species here
represented a considerable extension of their known ranges. Although under increasing
threat, due to a new surfaced road through the area, the forest is still extensive and
supported a rich avifauna, including 14 restricted-range species.
East Nusa Tenggara has been extensively deforested and only 10% of the total area is
now under close-canopy forest. Few significant protected areas yet exist in Flores, or
wider Nusa Tenggara. In global terms, the dry deciduous and monsoon forests are primary
importance as they are the most threatened and restricted in range. However, the moist
forests have the highest avian diversity and endemism. Establishment of a prioritised
protected area network is urgently required for the long-term survival of the
region’s unique species and biodiversity. Hopefully, the recommendations ensuing from
our work will ensure that some of the valuable areas mentioned above are incorporated into
such a program.
A final report is currently being produced, with expected completion in June 1998. For
further details contact John Pilgrim, 41 Welsfield, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 8DW, UK.
Action Sampiri: Sangihe & Talaud Conservation Project – Jim Wardell
Awarded a BOU Research Grant in 1996
A joint team of biologists from the Universities of York (UK) and Sam Ratulangi
(Indonesia) carried out an integrated conservation project on the islands of Sangihe and
Talaud, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, in late 1996 and early 1997. The project built on the
work undertaken by the team in 1995, researching the status of the islands’
threatened and endemic bird species, as well as pioneering a community-based conservation
awareness program. An aim was to inform local people of the results of the research and to
facilitate local conservation initiatives.
On Sangihe, work was focused on Mt. Sahengbalira, where Sangihe’s last forests
cling to steep ridges. This mountain, the key site for conservation on the island, was
found to support good numers of the endangered endemics, Elegant Sunbird Aethopyga
duyvenbodei, Sangihe Hanging-parrot Loriculus catamene and most of the
island’s 16 endemic subspecies. Them mountain is also the only site for Sangihe
Shrike-thrush Colluricincla sanghirensis, rediscovered after 120 years. The species
was frequently seen and a bird mist-netted, allowing much information to be gathered on
this little known endemic. The Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher Euthrichomyias rowleyi
and the Red-and-blue Lory Eos histrio were not recorded during the survey work.
School talks and community meetings were held in villages adjacent to the Sahengbalira
forest and the development of eco-tourism in the area investigated.
The island of Karakelang in the Talaud group supports the only viable population of the
Red-and-blue Lory which is represented there by the endemic subspecies talautensis.
The project taking its name from the bird’s local name – Sampiri. Field
excursions were made into the Karakelang Hunting Reserve, an important 20,000 ha of
protected lowland forest. The Red-and-blue Lory has declined significantly since 1995 and
it is estimated that less than 10,000 birds survive. The population crash is attributed to
over-trapping, with 1000 lories exported from Karakelang in 1996. The awareness team
worked closely with communities, from school children to local government officials, but
particularly with bird trappers and met with an enthusiastic response. The research team
focused on parrot species but also gathered evidence suggesting the endemic Talaud
Kingfisher Halycon enigma fully deserves its specific status, and noted large
numbers of the threatened Grey Imperial Pigeon Ducula pickeringii.
The conservation of the islands’ unique avifauna poses problems to a people who
need land for cultivation and individuals who make a small income from selling Lories to
the bird trade. However, increased awareness and understanding of conservation issues has
stirred communities to look for lasting solutions. The project team will return to the
islands in 1998 to examine endemic species’ habitat requirements, map land-use in the
vicinity of remaining forest and draw up management plans with cross-community input to
help ensure the survival of Sangihe and Taluad’s rich biodiversity.
Bird conservation priorities in eastern Paraguay: Project Yacutinga '95 – James
Lowen
Awarded a BOU Research Grant in 1995
From July to December 1995 an Anglo-Paraguayan conservation initiative, Project
Yacutinga '95, provided a comparative assessment of the biodiversity significance of 13
sites, including 11 reserves, in eastern Paraguay. Working with the governmental
Dirección de Parques Nacionales y Vida Silvestre and Museo Nacional de Historia Natural
del Paraguay, and the non-governmental Fundación Moisés Bertoni para la Conservación de
la Naturaleza, the research continued the work of Project Canopy '92, an earlier
smaller-scale project. Targeting sites listed in the country's first conservation strategy
(the Plan estratégico del Sistema Nacional de Areas Silvestres Protegidas or SINASIP),
we aimed to identify Paraguay's most cost-effective localities for conservation. To
evaluate sites we employed a ranking system that incorporated the diversity and abundance
of globally threatened bird species, which serve as rapid and effective bio-indicators.
We found the Reserva Natural del Bosque Mbaracayú to be the country's most important
locality, protecting 58,000 ha of Interior Atlantic forest, 3000 ha of cerrado and smaller
areas of grassland and marsh. The 12 globally threatened birds now found there highlight
the site as one of the most important in South America. Parque Nacional San Rafael and
Parque Nacional Caaguazú, adjacent areas which provide a combined protected forest area
of c. 80,000 ha, held the highest diversity of forest-dependent threatened birds
and Atlantic forest endemics. The Reserva Natural Privada Itabó ranked highest in terms
of threatened forest species, which included important populations of Vinaceous Amazon Amazona
vinacea and Blue-winged Macaw Ara maracana, but - at 3000 ha - is considerably
smaller than the two national parks.
The grasslands of the Reserva Privada Natural Sombrero were found to be an important
migratory staging-post and breeding ground for several scarce grassland birds, including
Crowned Eagle Harpyhaliaetus coronatus and Strange-tailed Tyrant Alectrurus
risora. The grasslands of the Monumento Natural Bosque de Arary and the Reserva de
Vida Silvestre Yabebyry form a near-contiguous protected area of 30,000 ha, numbers are
the country's most important areas for threatened grassland taxa, among them important
populations of Ochre-breasted Pipit Anthus nattereri.
During 2000 man-hours of fieldwork, nearly 500 species were recorded. These included 18
of the 24 globally threatened species known from Paraguay. Eight of these are endemic to
the Atlantic forests. Paraguay provides good opportunities for the conservation of
Helmeted Woodpecker Dryocopus galeatus, São Paulo Tyrannulet Phylloscartes
paulistus and Russet-winged Spadebill Platyrinchus leucoryphus. Black-fronted
Piping-guan Pipile jacutinga, however, appeared to have declined since surveys in
1992. Small populations of two nomadic bamboo specialists, Purple-winged Ground-dove Claravis
godefrida and Temminck's Seedeater Sporophila falcirostris, may conceivably
persist in the western arc of the Atlantic forests. A pair of Red-spectacled Amazon Amazona
pretrei were presumably wandering birds from the declining Brazilian population, but
were recorded at Itabó, where a bird was seen in 1992.
Of threatened grassland and cerrado species, a population of the critically endangered
White-winged Nightjar Caprimulgus candicans (at Mbaracayú) was only the second
found since the 1820s, and provided a range extension of c.1000 km. At the same
site, a single Rufous-faced Crake Laterallus xenopterus was the first record from a
protected area in the main part of its known distribution, and Black-masked Finch Coryphaspiza
melanotis was found breeding for the first time in Paraguay.
We recorded seven species not previously known from Paraguay (Russet-crowned Crake Anurolimnas
viridis, Ocellated Crake Micropygia schomburgkii, Spot-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus
maculicaudus, C. candicans, Hellmayr’s Pipit Anthus hellmayri, Masked
Tityra Tityra semifasciata and Yellow-bellied Seedeater Spropohila nigricollis).
We also located eight species which had not been recorded for 50 years, an additional 24
species with five or fewer country records, and provided the first records of 25 species
for four of the seven biogeographical regions into which eastern Paraguay has been
divided.
Such unexpected discoveries aptly illustrate the race to uncover Paraguay's biological
riches before they are lost through habitat destruction, hunting, pollution and
infrastructural development. Although much of Paraguay's avifauna occurs in existing or
potential reserves, these require protection that is de facto as oppose to merely de
juris. Several formally designated protected areas (including San Rafael) appear to exist
in name alone. This problem requires urgent attention.
Conservation effort and funding should in preference be directed towards sites of
global significance. Our work has highlighted the importance of Paraguay's cerrados and
grasslands, which have been neglected by previous conservation strategies. Continued
co-operation between governmental and non-governmental organisations is essential. For
example, the Private Nature Reserves scheme of the Fundación Moisés Bertoni should
target areas adjacent to existing state reserves to increase the area of contiguous
habitat protected. Sustainable natural resource use should be promoted in public and
privately administered areas alike, especially where the land is not owned by the managing
agency. Sustainable forest use could include rotational logging combined with
reforestation with native trees and intercropping of cash or food crops. Reforestation
programs and sustainable yield management should be both legally enforced and encouraged
with fiscal incentives. In grasslands, most threatened birds appear to tolerate some
disturbance from cattle. A well-managed mosaic of grazed, ungrazed and burnt areas could
theoretically cater for economic and environmental needs.
Above all, if the recommendations of Plan estratégico del Sistema Nacional de Areas
Silvestres Protegidas (SINASIP) are implemented, bringing nearly 10% of the country
under protection, Paraguay's principal conservation challenge will have largely been met.
The priority is now the effective management of existing reserves, rather than the
designation of new ones. If the wholesale exploitation of these "protected"
areas continues unchecked, the biological diversity of Paraguay's Atlantic forests,
grasslands and cerrados will rapidly diminish.
James C. Lowen, BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge CB3
0NA, UK.
Robert P. Clay, Large Animal Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of
Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
Copies of Biological surveys and conservation priorities in eastern Paraguay, a report
covering three seasons of fieldwork, can be found in the libraries of the BOU, BirdLife
International and Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology. Copies can be purchased from
the authors.
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