Page 53 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #10
P. 53
WILDNEWS
CONSERVATION REPORT RED DATA
BOOK OF
UZBEKISTAN
CentralAsian LISTED
sandcat
This month the spotlight falls on a feline
that is almost impossible to track.
For bumblebees
Wheredoesitlive? Howendangeredisit? it’s goodbye to
Sand cats live in the desert belts Globally the species is of ‘least concern’ neonicotinoids,
hello to new
stretching from north Africa, through but the central Asian subspecies is
pesticide threat.
the Middle East, and up into central thought exceptionally rare. They don’t have
Asia. There are four known subspecies a Red List in Uzbekistan, so it has been
of which the central Asian or Turkestan added to the Red Data book, a government CONSERVATION
sand cat is one. It lives in the Kyzylkum list of endangered animals that gives them
Desert in Uzbekistan. legal protection. New bumblebee
pesticide risk
Whyisitsounique? Whatarethemainthreats?
It’s the only cat to live exclusively in People. Habitat is becoming fragmented
desert habitats and so has a number of by the oil and gas industry. The land is pesticide poised to fill the gap left
distinct, specialised features. It doesn’t also used by sheep herders. Recently a Aby neonicotinoids – banned by the
really need to drink and gets most of its shepherd found a dead lamb and blamed EU earlier this year on the basis of the
moisture from its food sources; mainly sand cats. He destroyed the kittens in a danger they pose to pollinating insects
rodents and reptiles. It has a flat, round nearby den, but as adults weigh about – has been found to have similarly
head with very broad ears, short legs and 2kg it’s unlikely they were to blame. harmful effects on bumblebees.
the undersides of its paws are completely Biologists at Royal Holloway, University
covered in fur. Whatcanbedonetohelpit? of London have found that bumblebee
Left alone they would probably be fine, colonies exposed to Sulfoxaflor, in a
Whyisitsoelusive? so it’s about educating people not to class of pesticides called sulfoximines,
Its unusual paws, which are thought persecute them. Scientifically, little is produce significantly fewer workers and
to help it dig rapidly for prey, leave known about this amazing animal so reproductive males – an effect similar to
nondescript circular marks in the sand, baseline population surveys are needed. that caused by neonicotinoids.
which make it almost impossible to “We’d like to understand more about
track. It’s shy, nocturnal, lives in burrows ROBERT J BURNSIDE is a conservation why Sulfoxaflor has the effects that it
and, when it does come out, it’s perfectly biologist at the University of East Anglia. does,” says Elli Leadbeater, one of the
camouflaged. If startled, an adult will researchers. “Is it because bumblebee
often run away then stop, sit and blend in FIND OUT MORE The Sand Cat Working larvae that are exposed to the insecticide
with the background. Group: sand-cat.wild-cat.org fail to develop, or because exposed
worker bees are less efficient?”
There’s also the question of whether
the EU’s banning of neonicotinoids was
hasty, in the absence of well-considered
alternatives. “No, I don’t feel that’s
the case,” says Leadbeater. “The EU’s
decision was well considered, based
Sand cat: Robert J Burnside; bee: Chris Gomersall/2020VISION/NPL
on a large body of evidence.”
“Sulfoxaflor has been available in
many non-EU markets for a number of
years,” she says, “so hasn’t appeared as
a result of the EU’s decision, although
that may well make it more attractive
to European markets. What our study
highlights is that the issues surrounding
neonicotinoids are unlikely to be limited
to those particular products.” SB
A rare Central Asian
sand cat photographed FIND OUT MORE Nature: nature.
by Robert Burnside during com/articles/s41586-018-0430-6
his research in Turkestan.
October 2018 BBC Wildlife 53
