Endangered Species Update articles from July - September 2003

Endangered Species Update archives from July - September 2003

From the editor.(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... Most scientists agree that we are facing a substantial loss of biodiversity comparable to the massive extinctions caused by natural disasters and climate change in the past. This time, however, the cause of the disappearance of species is human...

Conservation biology and agroecology: De un Pajaro las dos alas.(1, 2)
July 1, 2003... Abstract One of the strategies used by conservation agencies and governments to curb biodiversity loss has been to establish priority areas where species richness and levels of endemism are high. The strategy to purchase land and protect...

Conservation biology and the need of a different ecological framework for agriculture.(Opinion)
July 1, 2003... Abstract The application of ecological principles is fundamental in the design of agricultural practices aimed to protect the natural environment and conserve biodiversity. Central to current ecological frameworks for agriculture is the...

Conservation in the human landscape.
July 1, 2003... Abstract Much of our conservation efforts have focused on preservation of wilderness to the detriment of our ability to see the need for conservation efforts in our more human dominated landscapes, the places we work, farm, and live....

Can the food dollar support conservation?
July 1, 2003... Abstract Modern, industrial agriculture has undermined biological diversity at all levels--genetic diversity, viability of populations and species, as well as ecosystems and their services. Agriculture is the primary cause of habitat...

Habitat changes in Colombian coffee farms under increasing management intensification.
July 1, 2003... Abstract I analyzed a set of environmental and vegetation variables in order to characterize an intensification gradient for coffee production agroecosystems. I measured 14 habitat variables within 12 Colombian farms classified into four...

Conserving wildlife of the Americas: Mexico's strategic role.
July 1, 2003... Mexico's geography is one of the keys to understanding why it comes fourth on the list of the world's biologically "megadiverse" nations-around a dozen countries, mostly in the tropics, that harbor some 70 percent of all the world's biological...

Conservation along the border.
July 1, 2003... Flying, running, hopping, and swimming-back and forth daily or annually, they pay no heed to that imaginary line we know as the U.S.-Mexican border. That describes many species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and an insect (the monarch...

The Kemp's ridley: recovery in the making.
July 1, 2003... The Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) received legal protection in Mexico in the 1960s and in 1970 in the United States. As is often the case, this species' decline began many years before receiving legal protection. A 1951...

Conserving cacti in Mexico.
July 1, 2003... Some of the most attractive plants in the world are the cacti. These plants are associated mainly with deserts, though they can also be found in temperate forests and even in tropical zones. Their adaptations have caught the attention of many...

Black-footed ferrets thrive in Mexico.
July 1, 2003... In September of 2002, biologists from the University of Mexico (UNAM) were unexpectedly treated to a thrilling sight: the discovery of the first wild-born black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) kit in Mexico. These kits were the offspring of...

California condors return to Mexico.
July 1, 2003... After a lengthy absence, California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) have returned to Baja California. The largest bird in North America is now soaring the skies over Mexico for the first time in more than 60 years. The site chosen for this...

Nightly wings, nectar sips.
July 1, 2003... We reached the cave entrance at around 5:00 p.m. At that time, hardly anyone was around the impressive cliff, with striking overhanging vegetation, that contained one of the most species-rich caves in all of Mexico. A young boy approached...

California red-legged frog jumping to survival.
July 1, 2003... Once made famous by Mark Twain in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," the California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii) is considered the largest native frog in California. During the mid to late 1800s, their large size and...

Binational conservation grows from the ground up.
July 1, 2003... As the survey team moves slowly through the brush, it appears to be stalking an imaginary lizard. Instead, its members are looking for the star cactus (Astrophytum asterias), an endangered plant found in the low elevation semi-arid thorn shrub...

Aquatic life in the Sonoran Desert.
July 1, 2003... Nestled in one of the driest part of the Sonoran desert, a pair of unique and fragile aquatic ecosystems straddles the border between the United States and Mexico: Quitobaquito Springs and the Rio Sonoyta. These permanent water sources have...

Jaguar conservation in the borderlands.
July 1, 2003... I may surprise many people that the jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest cat found in the Western Hemisphere, is native to the United States as well as Central and South America. It was believed to be extirpated from this country until 1996,...

Corridors for migration.
July 1, 2003... The beautiful Cienega Valley in southern Arizona is a perfect example of a viable international wildlife corridor. Located within 20 miles (32 kilometers) of the U.S./Mexico border, it boasts a 9-mile (15-km) long perennial stream and is home...

Pronghorn races against extinction.
July 1, 2003... At the U.S./Mexico border in southwestern Arizona the old "Peligroso/Danger" signs dangling from the barbed wire facing Mexico do little to stop a furtive flood of foot traffic through the unforgiving Sonoran Desert. In fact, this was the grim...

The masked bobwhite at Buenos Aires NWR.
July 1, 2003... The masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) is a subspecies of northern bobwhite found primarily in grassy, level areas in the Mexican state of Sonora and in the Altar and Santa Cruz Valleys of southern Arizona. It may never have had a...

Sonoran Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum stebbinsi).(Region 2)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... A recovery plan for this endangered salamander was completed and made available to the public in January 2003. The Sonoran tiger salamander, which is endemic to the San Rafael Valley of southeastern Arizona, is threatened by introduced exotic...

Holy Ghost Ipomopsis (Ipomopsis sancti-spiritus).(Region 2)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The final recovery plan for the Holy Ghost ipomopsis, an endangered plant known from only one site in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of north-central New Mexico, became available to the public on February 4, 2003. This plant is a short-lived...

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).(Region 5)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Service's Chesapeake Bay Field Office in Annapolis, Maryland, completed formal consultation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the replacement of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in accordance with section 7 of the Endangered...

Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis).(Region 5)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Service's New York Field Office completed formal ESA section 7 consultation with the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the Saratoga County Airport Master Plan Update. The Saratoga County Airport is the site of the largest population...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
July 1, 2003... Captions in the article, "Landowners are Recognized for Conservation Work" (Bulletin Vol. XXVII, No. 2) should have referred to the Barrens topminnow (Fundulus julisia).

Box score: listings and recovery plans as of April 14, 2003.(Illustration)
July 1, 2003... BOX SCORE Listing and Recovery Plans as of April 14, 2003 ENDAGERED THREATENED TOTAL GROUP U.S. FOREIGN U.S. FOREIGN LISTINGS MAMMALS 65 251 9 ...

The conservation of beneficial arthropods in agricultural landscapes: a challenges for the success of sustainable agriculture.
July 1, 2003... Abstract In the past, agricultural landscapes were a mosaic of crops, hedgerows, field margins, woodlands, wetlands and fallow fields. It is unfortunate that the current trend toward agriculture intensification is based on the replacement...

Mr. Cloyd's road: the discourse of subsidies in agriculture.
July 1, 2003... Abstract The international scheme of heavily subsidized commodities and overproduction in the developed countries, which has maintained low commodity prices, and forced small producers out of business in developed as well as developing...

The Failure of Modern Agriculture and Hope for the Future.(Book Review)
July 1, 2003... Abstract Fatal Harvest is an extraordinary book for teachers, agronomists, ecologists, conservation biologists, or antiglobalization activists. The authors discuss in a comprehensive manner the biological, social, and economic implications...

The fateful dialectic: agriculture and conservation.(Book Review)
July 1, 2003... Ecoagriculture: Strategies to Feed the World and Save Wild Biodiversity J. A. McNeely, and S. J. Sherr Island Press 2003 The Farm as Natural Habitat: Reconnecting Food Systems with Ecosystems. D. L. Jackson, and L. L. Jackson Island Press...