Columbidae (pigeons and doves) is one of the most threatened bird families in the world. I analysed data on the BirdLife International Species Information Database to examine the distribution and causes of threat among columbids. Of 304 species extant in the wild, 59 (19%) are threatened with extinction, 48 (83%) of which have restricted ranges. All but two threatened columbid species (97%) inhabit tropical forests, and of these, 45 are island species (78% of all threatened columbid species). The taxonomic distribution of columbids follows three coherent areas: the Americas; Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia; Asia, Australasia and Oceania. Asia, Australasia and Oceania support nearly two-thirds of all extant species and three-quarters of threatened species (44), most of which (84%) are restricted range insular species. Three countries within this area are the most important for the conservation of columbid diversity: Indonesia, the Philippines and French Polynesia. Together these three countries support 40% of extant species and half of all threatened species. The greatest causes of threat to columbids are (1) habitat loss and fragmentation due to agriculture and extraction, (2) hunting for food, and (3) alien predator species. Habitat loss and fragmentation are universal threats to columbids. Hunting, however, is a significantly greater threat to species in Asia, Australasia and Oceania than to species in the other two areas and urgently needs to be addressed. I discuss the conservation implications of these findings and make research recommendations to aid and encourage the conservation of threatened columbids and their habitats.

The conservation status of 134 species, subspecies and varieties of West Indian palms (Arecaceae) is assessed and reviewed, based on field studies and current literature. We find that 90% of the palm taxa of the West Indies are endemic. Using the IUCN Red List categories one species is categorized as Extinct, 11 taxa as Critically Endangered, 19 as Endangered, and 21 as Vulnerable. Fifty-seven taxa are classified as Least Concern. Twenty-five taxa are Data Deficient, an indication that additional field studies are urgently needed. The 11 Critically Endangered taxa warrant immediate conservation action; some are currently the subject of ex situ and in situ conservation projects in the region’s botanical gardens. We recommend that preliminary conservation assessments be made of the 25 Data Deficient taxa so that conservation measures can be implemented for those facing imminent threats.

This study investigates the attitude of communities adjacent to the Chobe National Park in Botswana and the South Luangwa National Park in Zambia with regard to local stewardship over natural resources and associated revenues implemented via community based natural resource management (CBNRM). This included measuring the extent to which community expectations were met. The survey revealed a general incongruence between community perceptions and expectations of the purpose and roles of the Community Resource Boards in Luangwa and the Community Trusts in Chobe and those of the respective wildlife authorities. After 2 decades of implementation there appears to be significant confusion among communities regarding CBNRM that seems to translate into unfulfilled expectations and frustrations. These factors highlight inadequacies in implementation with regard to outreach and inclusion.

In Kenya knowledge of the relative severity of threats to protected areas and the vulnerability of these areas to any threats is lacking. Such information is required, however, for assessment of the effectiveness of management of the country’s protected areas, and to help identify critical management and policy weaknesses and priorities for improving management and allocating resources. We therefore studied the relative severity of threats to Kenya’s 50 protected areas and their relative vulnerability to such threats based on the perceptions of protected area managers. Ten threats were identified by these managers, of which the most severe were illegal bushmeat hunting, poaching of large mammals, human–wildlife conflicts, human encroachment, and loss of migration corridors and dispersal areas. Thirty-two (64%) protected areas were vulnerable to over half of the threats, 54% vulnerable to over six of the threats and 32% vulnerable to over seven of the threats. Protected areas in marine, forested/montane and inland wetland ecosystems were regarded as highly vulnerable to the perceived threats. Protected areas adjacent to urban/industrial and agricultural areas were vulnerable to most of the threats. Our findings demonstrate that protected areas in Kenya are increasingly threatened, that major threats needs to be mitigated, and that prioritization of protected areas for strategic actions is required for effective management.

Since 1970 there has been a dramatic decline of large raptors and terrestrial birds in West African savannahs. Comparative dry season transect counts over 4,697 km of driven transects were performed in 2004–2005 in south-eastern Burkina Faso to assess the abundance of 41 raptor species and large terrestrial species in four National Parks and surrounding hunting zones and cultivated areas. Population sizes were estimated for larger taxa in protected areas using distance sampling and nest searching. Most large vultures and eagles were generally found only in protected areas, with fewer individuals in the surrounding buffer zones and nearly none elsewhere. Conversely, the abundance of most of the smaller species was not different between protected and cultivated areas, and three species were more abundant in cultivated areas. Helmeted guineafowl Numida meleagris, Stanley’s bustard Neotis denhami and Abyssinian ground hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus were not found outside protected areas. Within the 1.4 million ha of protected areas in and around south-east Burkina Faso, six species of eagles and vultures have estimated populations of c. 100–200 pairs, five species c. 50–100 pairs, five species have populations of <50 pairs, and the secretary bird Sagittarius serpentarius was not recorded. No specific reason for the collapse of large raptors in non-protected areas (which account for 99% of the area of the countries studied) has been identified, but the consequences of fast human population growth and habitat changes, overhunting, disturbances and poisoning may have played a critical role. Updating information on the conservation status of these species would be an important first step towards their long-term conservation.

The marine turtle fishery of Grenada was assessed using interviews with marine turtle fishermen and by examination of turtle catch data from a major landing site. An estimated 782 turtles, mainly Endangered green turtles Chelonia mydas and Critically Endangered hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata, were caught around Grenada and its sister island Carriacou each year between 1996 and 2001 during an annual 8-month open season, with only a small percentage being officially recorded at a landing site. Turtles were primarily caught with nets and spearguns, with more green turtles caught by net fishermen and more hawksbill turtles by spear fishermen. Catch per unit effort data suggested that relative abundance had declined since the previous estimate was made in 1969. Few adult green or loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta were caught, indicating the relative scarcity of this size class of these two species around Grenada. Adult-sized hawksbill turtles were caught regularly, with larger adults being caught in the non-breeding months of the open season than in the breeding months. A higher percentage of adult hawksbill turtles present during the breeding season are likely to be animals that nest in Grenada, and their smaller size may result from historically heavy fishing pressure. The larger sized adults caught during the non-breeding season are likely to be animals that forage around Grenada but breed elsewhere in the Caribbean where they are protected.

Although the killing of giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands has been prohibited since 1933, poaching of tortoises still occurs. Personnel of the Galapagos National Park Service and the Charles Darwin Research Station regularly survey populations of tortoises throughout the archipelago and report all dead tortoises found. For the 10-year period 1995–2004 the field personnel reported evidence of 190 giant tortoises killed, primarily on the southern portion of Isabela Island. For the first 6 years the number of tortoises found killed was <15 per year, but since 2001 the number killed has increased dramatically, with 49 tortoises poached in 2004. During the same 10 years the number of tortoises found dead from natural causes was 131. Many of these deaths can be attributed to events associated with the 1997–1998 El Niño or with outbreaks of disease on Santa Cruz Island in 1996 and 1999. The results indicate that poaching exceeds natural mortality, and is a significant factor affecting these long-lived and slow-reproducing animals. Environmental education efforts in the human population of southern Isabela appear to have had little effect. Because tortoise poaching takes place at a small number of sites, effective enforcement at those sites could reduce killing of tortoises.

Edge effects arising from road construction and other development in protected areas can negatively affect the behaviour of wildlife, particularly large carnivores. The Asiatic leopard Panthera pardus is a large carnivore that may be sensitive to edge effects. Camera trapping was used to assess the influence of human disturbance along forest edges on leopard behaviour and habitat use in a 104 km2 area of Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. A minimum of four male and two female leopards was recorded in the study area. A Park access road bisecting the study area was not a barrier to leopard movement but movements and activity were affected by human traffic inside the Park. A regression model showed that leopard habitat use increased with distance from human settlements at the forest edge. As in other parts of its range, leopards at Kaeng Krachan National Park tended to show less diurnal activity in areas more heavily used by people compared to areas less used. As is the case with tigers, such responses may pose a threat to leopard population persistence but more research is needed to determine the demographic implications of edge effects for Asiatic leopards and other large tropical carnivores, and the appropriate mitigation strategies required.

The Tibetan antelope or chiru Pantholops hodgsonii is endemic to the Tibetan plateau and was once abundant over vast areas of high elevation grassland habitat. During the 20th century, however, the population declined greatly in numbers. Hunting used to be the main threat to this species but recent actions by the government and wildlife protection organizations have brought this under control. With the development of north-west China, conflicts between development of transportation facilities and conservation have become more acute, and heavy traffic on the Golmud-Lhasa highway and the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railway across key migration corridors have disturbed the migration of Tibetan antelopes. During June to August 2003 and 2004 we monitored the movement of Tibetan antelopes across the railway and highway and recorded their passes at wildlife crossing structures, which was the first use of such structures in China. Our results show that the efficiency of passages greatly improved between 2003 and 2004, and that use of wildlife corridors was affected by the structure of the passage, presence of wolves, recovery of vegetation following damage during construction, and other factors. The disturbance to migration of Tibetan antelopes included infrastructure, human activities, road traffic, construction of the railway and so on. The impact of infrastructure, especially transportation development, on the habitat and migration of Tibetan antelopes are the main factors that threaten this species now and in the future.

Dispersal allows recolonization of previous areas of habitat following severe depression of a population but the significance of this is not clear in felids. There is little evidence to support the general belief that subadult felids will colonize new areas, although this is a crucial assumption in reintroduction or recovery projects. Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx were reintroduced into the Swiss Alps and have subsequently spread over part of their potential range but the expansion halted in the mid 1980s. We postulated that high lynx densities would lead to an expansion of the population, and to assess the potential of this population to expand we compared the dispersal characteristics of 22 subadults from the north-west Swiss Alps, where an increase in lynx abundance occurred from 1995 onwards, to 17 individuals from the Jura Mountains, an area with a lower lynx density. Dispersal data came mainly from radio-telemetry. Dispersal rates and distances for subadults that completed dispersal were lower in the north-west Swiss Alps than in the Jura Mountains. In general, subadults exhibited little ability to cross major barriers such as highways. The hypothesis that high density alone will foster the expansion of the population was therefore not confirmed. This has consequences for the reintroduction and recovery of carnivores in fragmented landscapes. To establish only one strong source population may not be an optimal strategy, and population nuclei should therefore be founded in several neighbouring patches.

Rifleman, or titipounamu Acanthisitta chloris, is New Zealand’s smallest endemic passerine. The species has a fragmented distribution and is threatened in the Rakiura region in the south of the South Island. The only known population of South Island rifleman A. c. chloris in the Rakiura region persisted on Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. To create a second population of rifleman in Rakiura, 30 caught from Codfish Island were reintroduced onto nearby Ulva Island in February 2003, the first translocation of rifleman. Survival and dispersal were monitored for 1 month post-release, and subsequently during the first and second breeding seasons. Mortality was greatest during holding and transfer, with low to moderate post-release mortality. All founding pairs bred in the first breeding season, and both founders and offspring bred in the second season. Dispersal across the island was greater for offspring. A simple deterministic matrix model indicated positive annual population growth (λ = 1.33), and low risk of short-term extinction. Holding/transfer techniques should be improved for future reintroductions, and longer-term monitoring should be undertaken for a more accurate assessment of vital rates. Based on the survival of founding birds, reproduction by the release generation and their offspring, and high probability of population persistence, the rifleman reintroduction was considered to be successful and a good model for future reintroductions of small passerine birds.

Based on ethical, theoretical and practical concerns, community-based conservation projects have developed over the past 2 decades as alternatives to traditional protected areas. Recent criticisms of such programmes by biologists and social scientists involve a debate on who should manage our natural resources. Such criticisms have focused on large integrated conservation and development projects (ICDPs) and have largely ignored the successes of small community conservation projects. Practitioners of ICDPs have also been disappointed with the results of their projects and are seeking answers from ICDP failures. Two important differences separate community conservation projects and ICDPs and have led to the success of the smaller projects: (1) community conservation projects see local rural people as the solution to habitat degradation whereas ICDPs see them as the problem, (2) the scale of the smaller projects is at the community level but can use the same methods regionally, whereas ICDPs are large in scale and cost. We discuss, from a practitioner’s viewpoint, the strengths that contribute to the successes of community conservation projects, including actually functioning at the community level, creating an empowered community group to carry on the social sustainability of the project, continuous basic level funding, and the importance of monitoring.

Rising international demand from collectors for the insects of Papua New Guinea, in particular the endemic birdwing butterflies (Ornithoptera spp.), has been met since 1978 by the government sponsored Insect Farming and Trading Agency (IFTA). Institutions such as IFTA have the potential to satisfy markets through legitimate trading, boost local livelihoods and thus provide conservation incentives, and satisfy CITES criteria. Until the onset in Papua New Guinea of large-scale logging and mining in the 1990s, and a crisis of governance, IFTA was widely regarded as a conservation and development success. However, analysis of its trading records for 1995-2002 suggests that this agency is now struggling to sustain payments to village-based insect ranchers and collectors. This failure, combined with the limited number of ranchers and collectors and their restricted geographical spread, casts some doubt on this model of sustainable conservation.

Pteropus vampyrus natunae, the Bornean subspecies of the large flying fox, has important roles in pollination but unsustainable hunting has been reported in Malaysian states. We provide the first description of hunting techniques and intensity in Indonesian Borneo. In forests around Palangka Raya this species is captured in canopy-level nets to support trade in the provincial capital. We estimate that in 2003 4,500 individuals were extracted from a single location in 30 days, which, together with trends reported in interviews with hunters and traders, suggests that hunting in this region is intensive and probably causing severe population declines. Further surveys are needed throughout Kalimantan to determine if this trend is occurring around other cities and whether intervention is needed to safeguard viable populations.

Despite being one of the rarest felids in the world the Endangered Bornean bay cat Catopuma badia has received little conservation attention. Most information consists of historical records, morphological descriptions, and anecdotes from various sources. During 2003–2006 we undertook surveys using camera trapping, interviews and field observations, to determine the species’ distribution and document any threats to its persistence. We also examined museum specimens and completed a thorough literature review, collecting 15 additional geographic records throughout Borneo. Our results show that opportunistic hunting and land use changes are the main threats to the bay cat, and we make recommendations for its conservation.

The mountain chicken Leptodactylus fallax, the largest amphibian in the Caribbean, restricted to Dominica and Montserrat, is Critically Endangered. We investigated the presence of disease in the mountain chicken and in the sympatric cane toad Bufo marinus and Johnstone's whistling frog Eleutherodactylus johnstonei in the Centre Hills on Montserrat. Skin swabs of mountain chickens and B. marinus, and toe clips from E. johnstonei, were tested for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causative organism of cutaneous chytridiomycosis. Additionally, mountain chicken blood serum samples (n = 57) were examined for exposure to ranavirus. No chytrid or exposure to ranavirus was detected. We draw tentative conclusions about disease threats to the Montserrat mountain chicken population, and present preliminary recommendations for safeguarding this species.

In marine turtles the selection of oviposition habitat is a key determinant of offspring success. I investigated which environmental features influenced the nesting activity and nest distribution of the hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata by daily monitoring of a rookery on the coast of the Arabian Gulf, in Qatar. I mapped the distribution of turtle nests and unsuccessful nesting attempts and measured key beach features. Data were analysed using autoregressive models, a specific regression technique dealing with spatial autocorrelation. Distribution of nests and unsuccessful nesting attempts were strongly spatially autocorrelated. In some areas almost all the turtles that approached the beach excavated a nest, whereas in other areas nesting was scarce but many unsuccessful attempts were observed. Turtle activity was lower in areas with a steep coastline and high rock cover. Nest density was higher on beaches with a low slope and little rock cover, and with soft soil and high vegetation cover. The density of unsuccessful nesting attempts was higher in areas with hard soil and low vegetation cover. These results are relevant for the management and restoration of nesting areas for this Critically Endangered species.