ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[peter]

PLANNING TIGER RECOVERY: UNDERSTANDING INTRASPECIFIC VARIATION FOR EFFECTIVE CONSERVATION (Wilting et al., 2015)

The link to this article was posted by Tigerluver (post 724). This post has an overview of the most important conclusions.


a - INTRODUCTION

The first sentence is as good as it gets:

" ... Fewer than 4000 tigers inhabit the forests of Asia - a historically low number. These tigers occupy only 7% of their estimated former distribution range, and 70% of them inhabit 42 source sites, which occupy only 0,5% of their historical range ... " (pp. 1). 

The second and third compare:

" ... Almost $50 million is spent annually by range countries, non-governmental organizations, and private donors on the conservation of wild tigers. This amount has massively increased since the launch of the World Bank's Global Tiger Initiative (GTI) in 2008. No other threatened species commands such resources and attention from the international community ... " (pp. 1).

The fourth also is a beauty:

" ... A precondition for a successful tiger recovery and global tiger management ... is a consensus on the number of tiger conservation units (that is, subspecies, evolutionary significant units (ESU's), ecotypes, or management units) because active interventions, such as translocations or releases of captive-bred tigers, will presumably become more important in the future for reversing the decline of wild tigers ... " (pp. 1).

It doesn't stop there:

" ... Despite repeated previous efforts to unravel tiger diversity and define conservation units in terms of subspecies, results were often contradictory and no consensus has been reached so far. Up to nine subspecies of tigers are currently recognized, three of which are already extinct and a fourth probably only survives in captivity ... " (pp. 1).

What is their conclusion on the efforts to 'unravel' tiger diversity? 

" ... In summary, previous studies often used small sample sizes and used either only morphological characters or only molecular markers to characterize subspecies. The two approaches have only occasionally been combined in a superficial way. Consequenlty, the validity of some or all subspecies remains a matter of debate ... " (pp. 1). 

I wouldn't get to devastating, but it is close. Research- and subspecieswise, the picture is quite gloomy. Is there not a glimmer of hope then? No light somewhere in the sea of darkness? Of course there is:

" ... Here, we present the most comprehensive analysis to date of molecular, morphological (craniodental and pelage data), and ecological (climate, habitat, and prey data) characteristics of all nine putative tiger subspecies. We show that with a comprehensive multi-trait data set, only two subspecies (one consisting of two management units) receive robust support. We conclude with a discussion of appropiate conservation strategies, and propose a scientifically sound and more pragmatic approach to reverse the tiger's population decline ... " (pp. 3).  

This is a one-minute course in introductions, I think. You first present the subject of many studies, the poor tiger. The reader sees a gloomy picture in that 70% of the tigers left today inhabit 0,5% of their historical range only. Terrible. Then the World Bank's Global Tiger Initiative is presented. The conclusion is no other threatened animal receives as much dollars as the tiger. Did the support had effect? No. How come? No clear management strategy, which is a result of a difference of opinion on the number of tiger subspecies. How develop an effective strategy when there is no agreement on the number of subspecies? The answer is you first dismantle all studies on subspecies and then present the solution (two subspecies) in a new article. Problem solved. And full marks.
 
A cynical appreciation, some might think. The answer is no. The introduction is well written, the problems mentioned are very real and the result is wild tigers still walk the edge. Something needs to change and it has to change real fast. Would limiting the number of subspecies help? In order to answer that question, a few issues need to be addressed.  Reply