Understanding the mechanisms underlying population declines is critical for preventing the extinction of endangered populations. Positive feedbacks can hasten the process of collapse and create an ‘extinction vortex,’ particularly in small, isolated populations. We provide a case study of a male-biased sex ratio creating the conditions for extinction in a natural population of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) on North Brother Island in the Cook Strait of New Zealand. We combine data from long term mark-recapture surveys, updated model estimates of hatchling sex ratio, and population viability modeling to measure the impacts of sex ratio skew. Results from the mark-recapture surveys show an increasing decline in the percentage of females in the adult tuatara population. Our monitoring reveals compounding impacts on female fitness through reductions in female body condition, fecundity, and survival as the male-bias in the population has increased. Additionally, we find that current nest temperatures are likely to result in more male than female hatchlings, owing to the pattern of temperature-dependent sex determination in tuatara where males hatch at warmer temperatures. Anthropogenic climate change worsens the situation for this isolated population, as projected temperature increases for New Zealand are expected to further skew the hatchling sex ratio towards males. Population viability models predict that without management intervention or an evolutionary response, the population will ultimately become entirely comprised of males and functionally extinct. Our study demonstrates that sex ratio bias can be an underappreciated threat to population viability, particularly in populations of long-lived organisms that appear numerically stable.
Translocation is an essential conservation tool often used to re-establish reptile populations following anthropogenic extirpation, but is not always successful. One factor potentially limiting success is dispersal of individuals from the release site immediately after translocation and consequent non-overlap of ranges. 'Penning' involves the use of an enclosure to restrict dispersal of translocated animals for a pre-determined period of time, with the aim of habituating animals to the release site so that they will establish a breeding population. We evaluated the utility of penning for limiting post-translocation dispersal of jewelled geckos (Naultinus gemmeus) by simultaneously tracking 19 geckos that had either been translocated into a pen for 9-10 months prior to the pen's removal (n = 10) or were translocated to a nearby site with no physical barrier to dispersal (n = 9) over a 3-week period. The area occupied by penned geckos did not increase following removal of their pen, despite suitable habitat being available outside the pen area. In contrast, un-penned geckos moved distances of up to 40 m outside of their release area, and effectively increased the area that they were occupying as a group 4.4-fold over the 3-week period. We suspect that when Naultinus geckos are released without time in a pen, some individuals may disperse too far to contribute to a breeding population and, consequently, the likelihood of population establishment and rate of population growth may be diminished. Our hypothesis is supported by a survey we conducted the following summer in which all four adult female geckos found at the penned site were gravid, but neither of the females resighted at the un-penned site was gravid. We believe that the potential advantages of penning (e.g. restricting initial dispersal, increased ease of monitoring) may outweigh the disadvantages (e.g. cost) for many herpetofauna translocations.
Alpine zones are threatened globally by invasive species, hunting, and habitat loss caused by fire, anthropogenic development and climate change. These global threats are pertinent in New Zealand, with the least understood pressure being the potential impacts of introduced mammalian predators, the focus of this review. In New Zealand, alpine zones include an extensive suite of cold climate ecosystems covering c. 11% of the land mass. They support rich communities of indigenous invertebrates, lizards, fish, and birds. Many taxa are obligate alpine dwellers, though there is uncertainty about the extent to which distributions of some species are relicts of wider historical ranges. The impacts of introduced mammalian predators are well described in many New Zealand ecosystems, though little is known about the impacts of these predators on alpine fauna. Here we review the importance of alpine habitats for indigenous fauna and the impacts of introduced mammalian predators; and develop a conceptual model explaining threat interactions. Most evidence for predation is anecdotal or comes from studies of species with wider ranges and at lower altitudes. Nevertheless, at least ten introduced predator species have been confirmed as frequent predators of native alpine species, particularly among birds and invertebrates. In the case of the endangered takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) and rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris), stoats (Mustela erminea) are primary predators, which are likely to be impacting significantly on population viability. We also document records of mammalian predation on alpine lizards and freshwater fish. While the precise impacts on the long-term viability of threatened species have not been evaluated, anecdotal evidence suggests that predation by mammals is a serious threat, warranting predator control. Future research should focus on predicting when and where mammalian predators impact on populations of indigenous fauna, furthering our understanding of the alpine predator guild particularly through adaptive management experiments, and exploring interactions with other threats.
18Funding for managing threatened species is currently insufficient to assist recovery of all species, so 19 management projects must be prioritized. In attempts to maximize phylogenetic diversity conserved, 20 prioritization protocols for threatened species are increasingly weighting species using metrics that 21 incorporate their evolutionary distinctiveness. In a case study using 700 of the most threatened species in 22New Zealand, we examined trade-offs between emphasis on species' evolutionary distinctiveness 23 weights, and the numbers of species prioritized, as well as costs and probabilities of success for recovery 24 projects. Increasing emphasis on species' evolutionary distinctiveness weights in the prioritization 25 protocol led to greater per-species costs and higher risk of project failure. In a realistic, limited-budget 26 scenario, this resulted in fewer species prioritized, which imposed limits on the total phylogenetic 27 diversity that could be conserved. However, by systematically varying the emphasis on evolutionary 28 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 2 distinctiveness weight in the prioritization protocol we were able to minimize trade-offs, and obtain 29 species groups that were near-optimal for both species numbers and phylogenetic diversity conserved. 30 *Manuscript Click here to view linked ReferencesPhylogenetic diversity may not equate perfectly with functional diversity or evolutionary potential, and 31 conservation agencies may be reluctant to sacrifice species numbers. Thus, we recommend prioritizing 32 species groups that achieve an effective balance between maximizing phylogenetic diversity and number 33 of species conserved. 34
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