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

peter Offline
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( This post was last modified: 09-28-2017, 06:38 PM by peter )

GUATE

Nice to see you still post every now and then. Hope you're doing ok. If you have time, inform us on a few essentials. I know you got a job as assistent-professor after you graduated and I also know you have a son and bought a few books. My guess is you also read papers and articles when possible. Any new developments? 

1 - Advantages of the new classification

As to the point made in your last post. Those who published the new classification, regarding tigers, specifically stated that not all researchers support the proposal of Kitchener. Quite a few, also on good grounds, concluded that it would be more accurate to distinguish between 8 or 9 subspecies.

If we use what is known about tiger evolution and add the definition of subspecies, Kitchener is right. Clinewise, he also has a point. Last but not least, the new proposal has advantages for those involved in conservation and management. The most important of these could be simplicity. 

2 - Disadvantages of the new classification

One important disadvantage could be loss of information. This is a direct result of the definition of 'subspecies'. Following the present definition, it would take tens of thousands of years of isolation to qualify. Seen in this light, one could make a case for two tiger subspecies. The problem is that tigers adapt very quickly (within a century) to changing conditions. As genes are slow to follow, the question is if the definition presently used has any value regarding tigers.   

As to tigers quickly adapting to changing conditions. I propose to move to Malaysia.

A century ago, an interview with the Sultan of Johore was published. The Sultan hunted tigers on foot. The longest he shot were well over 9 feet in total length measured in a straight line. Judging from the photographs, some of them were bulky animals. In the following decades, others also shot tigers also exceeding 9 feet in total length in that part of Malaysia every now and then. Locke's longest, shot about half a century later, taped just under 9 feet in total length. He could have been well over 9 feet if his tail had been intact, but the point is he was the only one of that length.

I know the average length didn't change that much between 1900-1950, but that could have been a result of a sloppy administration: the Sultan included immature animals whereas the tigers shot by Locke were adult. Also remember that the tigresses shot by the Sultan were quite a bit longer (10 inches) than the tigresses shot by Locke. Based on what I have on tigers in that part of Malaysia today, tigers seem to be shorter than back then. Furthermore, exceptional individuals are no longer seen.

What we see, is similar to what is seen on islands in that isolation, lower numbers and (hunting) pressure quickly result in loss of size. This process can be regarded as the last stage of a species on its way out and it takes less than a century.

What is needed regarding species facing extinction is not a simplified classification, but the opposite. I was thinking about a number of regional case-studies covering a period of, say, a century. If there would have been a series on (the rise and fall of) tigers in the Caspian region, the Baikal region, (northern, central and southern) China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Bali and Java, a number of tell-tale signs would have emerged. These signs no doubt could have been used by researchers today. Conservation is about knowledge, not simplification. In my opinion, a simplified classification won't result in more overview, but less. It won't contribute to conservation, but to something else. Exactly the opposite of what is intended.   

3 - Morphology

I never saw a wild tiger, but I talked to many who did. In zoos and, in particular, private facilities, I measured many tigers of different subspecies. I watched them for a long time. Although there is a lot of overlap, subspecies do differ from each other. Same in the skull department. There are structural differences between skulls of different subspecies. 

Although there is a cline, it's way too simple to conclude that the differences were a result of size only. Bones are a result of function, meaning you can learn a lot about the conditions that resulted in specific features over time if you study skulls. Until 150-200 years ago, tigers adapted to (changes in) natural conditions. When the age of humans arrived, tigers had to adapt once more. Although they did, the essentials, a result of thousands of years of adapting to natural conditions, didn't. 

Those who studied skulls from Sumatra, Java and Bali concluded that most differences had no fundamental character. I disagree, but understand the conclusion as their focus was on a limited number of variables. Determining a skull, however, isn't about measurements only. Although many differences can be caught in numbers, others can not. Every subspecies has specific features not seen in others.  

4 - Conclusions

There are over 7 billion humans today. Many of them suffer from debilitating diseases. If it is decided to address these, one, as a result of numbers, has no option but to take decisions at a high level of abstraction. As every individual is different, errors can't be avoided. But at the level of abstraction at which decisions are taken, 50% or over is a good score. This means that millions will perish. Many more, however, will be able to add a few more years. We don't focus on those who perish, but on those who survive.  

In animals threatened by extinction, like tigers, we're not talking about millions, but about a few thousand. Most of these live in small pockets not connected to each other. Every group faces different conditions and in every region things are different. What you need, is not a discussion at a high level of abstraction, but case-studies, a lot of details and accuracy and local knowledge. We can't afford to lose a few thousand more, as that would be game over. The answer regarding extinction isn't simplicity and standardization, but the opposite.

Conservation isn't about animals (all species can survive without any problem), but about us. This means it is about knowledge, commitment, culture (India, Bhutan and Nepal) and politics (Russia, China, Thailand and Malaysia).
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Messages In This Thread
RE: ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris) - peter - 09-28-2017, 06:45 AM
Demythologizing T16 - tigerluver - 04-12-2020, 11:44 AM
Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 07-28-2014, 09:54 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 07-28-2014, 10:02 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 07-29-2014, 12:56 AM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - peter - 07-29-2014, 07:05 AM
Tiger recycling bin - Roflcopters - 09-04-2014, 01:36 AM
RE: Tiger recycling bin - Pckts - 09-04-2014, 02:22 AM
RE: Tiger recycling bin - Roflcopters - 09-05-2014, 01:01 AM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 11-15-2014, 10:07 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 11-15-2014, 10:57 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 11-15-2014, 11:33 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 02-19-2015, 11:25 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - GuateGojira - 02-23-2015, 11:36 AM
Status of tigers in India - Shardul - 12-20-2015, 03:23 PM
RE: Tiger Directory - Diamir2 - 10-03-2016, 04:27 AM
RE: Tiger Directory - peter - 10-03-2016, 06:22 AM
Genetics of all tiger subspecies - parvez - 07-15-2017, 01:08 PM
RE: Tiger Predation - peter - 11-11-2017, 08:08 AM
RE: Man-eaters - Wolverine - 12-03-2017, 11:30 AM
RE: Man-eaters - peter - 12-04-2017, 09:44 AM
RE: Tigers of Central India - Wolverine - 04-13-2018, 01:17 AM
RE: Tigers of Central India - qstxyz - 04-13-2018, 08:34 PM
RE: Size comparisons - peter - 07-16-2019, 05:28 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - peter - 05-20-2021, 07:13 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - Nyers - 05-21-2021, 08:02 PM
RE: Amur Tigers - peter - 05-22-2021, 08:09 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - GuateGojira - 04-06-2022, 12:59 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - tigerluver - 04-06-2022, 01:08 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - tigerluver - 04-06-2022, 09:08 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - tigerluver - 04-06-2022, 11:30 PM
RE: Amur Tigers - peter - 04-08-2022, 07:27 AM



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