Thermoregulation in Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) and its consequences for in situ conservation
Thermoregulation in Malayan sun bears is not fully understood. Therefore, in this study the effect of meteorological variables on both behavioural and autonomic thermoregulatory mechanisms in sun bears was examined in order to identify temperature thresholds for the activation of various thermoregulatory mechanisms. Infrared thermography was used to non‒invasively determine body surface temperature (TS) distribution […]
Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming
As the Earth warms, many species are likely to disappear, often because of changing disease dynamics. Here we show that a recent mass extinction associated with pathogen outbreaks is tied to global warming. Seventeen years ago, in the mountains of Costa Rica, the Monteverde harlequin frog (Atelopus sp.) vanished along with the golden toad (Bufo […]
Estimating the energetic contribution of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) summer diets to the total energy budget
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are faced with potential drastic changes to their ice habitat in the near future. Climate models predict that the ice-covered period during which bears use the sea ice to hunt seals is getting shorter, and that the ice-free season will become extended. Bears will not have enough ice time to accumulate […]
Climate change threatens polar bear populations: a stochastic demographic analysis
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) depends on sea ice for feeding, breeding, and movement. Significant reductions in Arctic sea ice are forecast to continue because of climate warming. We evaluated the impacts of climate change on polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea by means of a demographic analysis, combining deterministic, stochastic, environment-dependent matrix population […]
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Life History and Population Dynamics in a Changing Climate
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Conservation and Climate Change: Assessing the Vulnerability of Snow Leopard Habitat to Treeline Shift in the Himalaya
Climate change is likely to affect the persistence of large, space-requiring species through habitat shifts, loss, and fragmentation. Anthropogenic land and resource use changes related to climate change can also impact the survival of wildlife. Thus, climate change has to be integrated into biodiversity conservation plans. We developed a hybrid approach to climate-adaptive conservation landscape […]
Staying Cool, Keeping Strong: Incubation Temperature Affects Performance in a Freshwater Turtle
It is unclear how predicted rises in ambient temperature associated with climate change will impact upon the survivorship of oviparous reptiles. Given that the incubation temperature can influence hatchling phenotype, understanding how elevated temperatures during development can affect the ability of hatchlings to undertake routine behaviours is important, especially for threatened species. Here we tested […]
Nursing females are more prone to heat stress: Demography matters when managing flying-foxes for climate change
Determining the underlying mechanisms responsible for species-specific responses to climate change is important from a species management perspective. The grey-headed flying-fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is listed as vulnerable but it also a significant pest species for orchardists and thereby presents an interesting management conundrum. Over the last century, the abundance of the grey-headed flying-fox, P. poliocephalus, […]
Climate Change, Conservation and the Place for Wild Animal Welfare in International Law
There is an epistemological gulf between animal welfare and nature conservation that has, for the most part, frustrated a practical working relationship. Welfare components are scarce in international wildlife management law and are typically subordinate to conservation object-ives. However, predictions concerning the combined effect of climate change and biodiversity decline describe a shrinking of the […]