Page 48 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #06

Urgent action is
needed to save DEAD
the few remaining
Sumatran rhinos.
IN THE
WATER Rh no: Suzi Eszterhas/Minden/FLPA; seaglider: UEA; bee: Ph

The Gulf of Oman in the
Arabian Sea is the largest
marine“dead zone”on the
planet.According to new
research, it covers an area
larger than Scotland.
Dead zones are
characterised by unnaturally
low oxygen levels, caused by
warming seas in conjunction
with fertilisers and sewage Savoie/naturepl.com; e ephant: Steve Winters/Getty
running of the land.
“Until now, no-one really
knew how bad the situation
was because piracy and
conflicts in the area have
Last-ditch effort for rhinos made it too dangerous to
collect data,”says Bastien
Queste of the University of
Biologists propose drastic – one on the island of Sumatra as different as humans were East Anglia, who led the work.
measures to save our and one on Borneo. A third, from the Neanderthals, should The scientists surveyed the
smallest rhino species. which once ranged widely be combined into a single water quality using two small
across mainland south and east conservation unit.” robotic submarines called
The future of the Sumatran Asia is now probably extinct. The team also urges the Seagliders, which patrolled
rhino is now so precarious But numbers are now so low collection of tissue samples from the region for eight months.
that experts are recommending that the biologists behind the all the surviving animals in order
that all wild individuals be study say the best hope for the to preserve the limited genetic
removed from the wild for species overall is to pool the diversity that remains. These
captive breeding. two subspecies into a single could be used in the future to
No more than 90 of these breeding population. breed from dead individuals.
secretive pachyderms remain, “My strongest “Unfortunately, at this point
and there might be as few recommendation is that they are we have to act quickly and risk
as 30, including nine captive brought into breeding centres losing unique genetic lineages
individuals. The population is as soon as possible because they in order to save a whole species,”
thought to have halved over the aren’t going to survive in the says Roca’s colleague Jessica
last two decades as a result of wild in such low numbers,” said Brandt. Stuart Blackman
poaching and habitat loss. Alfred Roca of the University of Robo-
Research just published in Illinois, who led the research. “It + FIND OUT MORE research:
the Journal of Heredity confirms is heartbreaking as a geneticist Journal of Heredity: https:// Seagliders
that these survivors can be split to recommend that two bit.ly/2Gjr46q were used in
this survey.
subspecies, which are probably
between two distinct subspecies briefin
T urtle: Jordi Chias/naturepl.com; Leonardo d Caprio: George Pimente /Getty Following a ruling by the US District Court “ Grouvellinus
CONSERVATION

HAWAIIAN TURTLES
leonardodicaprioi”
e
for Hawaii, the National Marine Fisheries
Service closed longline fishing around
the islands from May to the end of
Posted by Leonardo DiCaprio on
December 2018. The federal court ordeer
Facebook when he changed his
was put in place to protect loggerhead
profile picture to this new species
turtles that become entangled and drown
of water beetle found in Borneo. It
hooks set to catch swordfish.
promoting environmental awareness.
June 2018
BBC Wildlife
48 in the curtain of near-invisible lines and was named in honour of his work in