The persistent dry weather which has led to the current hosepipe ban in South East England is also threatening the future of one of Britain’s rarest amphibians, the natterjack toad.

With fewer than 50 breeding populations remaining in mainland Britain, the natterjack is highly vulnerable to the drying-out of the shallow coastal dune slacks it relies on as breeding habitat. Low rainfall for the past two years means that these wet hollows have begun disappearing before natterjack tadpoles have metamorphosed into toads, causing a significant drop in breeding success.

In response, Natural England has introduced a programme of water saving techniques and pond management across a number of its National Nature Reserves (NNRs), which support a large proportion of the remaining natterjack population. For example, at Saltfleetby Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR in Lincolnshire, staff have created captive pools in which water levels are controlled to allow tadpoles to mature before being they are allowed to escape into the surrounding dunes. Dr Pete Brotherton, Natural England’s Head of Biodiversity is optimistic about the success of the scheme saying ‘we are confident that the toad can bounce back if conditions prove wetter next year’.

Further afield, targeted conservation interventions to protect amphibians are also taking place in Central America. In this region, in addition to the threat of a changing climate, species of frog are being severely impacted by the spread of ‘chytrid’ – a virulent fungal disease. In some regions, the fungus is spreading at a rate of around 20 miles a year and can reduce frog populations by up to 90%. In response, scientists have started a programme of collecting healthy frogs from their forest habitats and transporting them to specially designed ‘arks’ to be held until ongoing research provides a solution to eradicate the fungus. Such a seemingly drastic response is partly due to the considerable potential value of amphibian diversity for human health. For example, a species of tree frog from Australia has been found to produce compounds that destroy HIV cells, whilst the phantasmal poison frog produces a painkiller 200 times more powerful than morphine. Already, the gastric-brooding frog – thought to offer a possible cure for peptic ulcers – has gone extinct.

In order to prevent the loss of further amphibian species with significant human, ecological and intrinsic value, such conservation efforts may need to be become more widely applied in the future.

For more on the natterjack toad, see Natural England’s press release on the subject. Further detail on amphibian conservation and the chytrid fungus can be found on the BBC news website.

A paper published in the Journal of Global Change Biology this week indicates that climate change is already having an impact on tropical forests in Costa Rica. The study, which was conducted over 20 years, indicates that if current warming trends continue, we could see the species composition of rainforests change as a consequence.

Future conditions are predicted to reduce biodiversity as plants adapted to survive in drier environments such as deciduous canopy trees will be favored at the expense of other species which will not be able to compete. A climate induced re-shape in the forest profile may additionally have detrimental impacts on both future carbon storage, and ecosystem service provision.

Such research is particularly relevant in light of the forthcoming BES Annual Symposium entitled ‘Forests and global change’ due to take place on 28-30th March 2011 at the University of Cambridge. The symposium will bring together expertise in rainforest ecology and climate change to discuss emerging themes in forest ecology and conservation.

Scientists have recently discovered that a tree fungus Gliocladium roseum, produces compounds of long-chain hydrocarbons very similar in structure to commercial diesel.

The lead scientist of the research, Gary Strobel, from Montana State University said: “This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances… …we were totally surprised to learn that it was making a plethora of hydrocarbons.”

The work is due to be published in the journal Microbiology next month, where the compounds have been described as ‘mycodiesels.’ The research also documents the ability of the fungus to break down cellulose – the structure that makes up the plant cell wall with lignin – to create the mycodiesel. Previously, cellulose has been converted to biofuels in a two-step process requiring enzymes to create sugars from the cell wall followed by microbes to convert sugars to ethanol.

The find illustrates the very real and unthinkably diverse compounds in the depths of our remaining forests, and highlights the desperate need to conserve what we have left. The research also comes at a time when traditional taxonomy is in precipitous decline, making the case to educate more young taxonomists even stronger. There is great potential for the discovery of new medicines and fuels derived from biodiversity across many ecosystems, from forests to the marine environment.

Although excited by the news, Tariq Butt, a fungus expert based at Swansea University, urged caution:

“Concept-wise, the discovery and its potential applications are fantastic. However, more research is needed, as well as a pilot study to determine the costs and benefits. Even so, another potential supply of renewable fuel allows us to diversify our energy sources and is certainly an exciting discovery.”

As existing oil supply reaches its peak and begins to dwindle, rather than investing in clean alternatives, oil companies are seeking to continue profiteering from remaining stocks that are locked up in remote, sensitive and fragile biomes such as the Amazon.

The western Amazon, (which includes Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and Columbia) is relatively untouched, yet plans have been hatched to open up the region to scout for and extract oil.

Close to 180 ‘blocks’ that have been allocated by regional governments overlap with some of the most biologically diverse regions of Amazonia, not to mention some of the last few uncontacted tribes in the region. In Peru, 58 of the 64 blocks allocated to prospective oil companies have already been allocated to indigenous tribes.

As directly illustrated by the recent documentary led by Bruce Parry on the BBC, once roads have been carved through the forest, it can become cleared for at least 30km either side of the road. Spillover effects include increased levels of illegal bushmeat hunting, logging and human settlement.

However the human element cannot be taken out of the equation. Many involved in activities that lead to forest destruction directly or indirectly, do it out of financial necessity or survival. Positive engagement and incentivisation not to destroy and take at the local level is required, and this needs to begin at the government level. Research into the value of the ecosystem services provided by the forests suggests they are worth considerably more standing than cleared. However, without funds directed from the thriving ‘carbon market’ and invested in the forest, they will continue to be destroyed for local and commercial purposes.

The researchers in Finer et al’s study outline the following policy initiatives to curb the social and ecological breakdown:

• roadless extraction methods to greatly reduce these impacts
• attention to be paid to the rights of indigenous peoples, especially those living in voluntary isolation who by definition cannot be consulted or give their consent
• clarification of who controls the land and its oil and gas resources as this would greatly influence the development of the region
• regional Strategic Environmental Assessments conducted by neutral parties to prevent habitat fragmentation and progressive damage across large areas of untouched forest
• support Ecuador’s Yasuni-ITT proposal², which seeks compensation from the international community in exchange for leaving the country’s largest oil fields, located beneath untouched rainforest, unexploited.

Sceptics believe that economising the forests could lead to rich countries being allocated funds for their remaining rainforest’s as well. Priority really should be given to developing countries that house some of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. What is certain is unless real action is taken soon, there will be little left on the ground to conserve.

BES members and genuine blog readers are invited to comment

Source: Finer, M., Jenkins, C., Pimm, S., et al. (2008). Oil and Gas Projects in the Western Amazon: Threats to Wilderness, Biodiversity, and Indigenous Peoples. PLoS One. 3(8): e2932 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002932.

The Prince of Wales has called upon hard-nosed city financiers to invest in Rainforests. Top city officials including Robert Swannell, Vice President of Citi Europe and Chris Gibson-Smith, chairman of the London Stock Exchange are among invitees to Mansion House tonight to discuss methods of investing billions in conservation schemes globally.

The carbon market is thought to be the best way of investing in forests, however presently most investment is directed towards new plantations rather than preserving standing forests.

Stanley Fink, former chief executive of Man Group, stated that if the true value of rainforests was reflected in their price, then they would not be cut down. Speaking to the Financial Times, Mr Fink stated that [ecosystem] services provided by the forests were worth around £8,500 per hectare of forest, as opposed to the £100-200 obtained through agriculture. The true value may in fact be much higher if retrospective carbon sequestration and other historical ecosystem services were included in the valuation.

Businesses including Macdonalds, Goldman Sachs, Shell and Rio Tinto will be represented at tonight’s dinner at Mansion House.

See the Prince’s Rainforest Project website here: http://www.princesrainforestsproject.org/

The IUCN has highlighted the plight of the world’s primates in a comprehensive review of all 634 known species. The IUCN is the world’s leading conservation body, funding, equipping and managing conservation scientists and projects, as well as leading on policy development internationally. The recent published review found that almost half of all primates face extinction unless urgent action is taken across the globe.

One of the greatest threats to primates is habitat loss, which is primarily caused by the burning and clearing of forests for global commercial gain. Habitat destruction is particularly a problem in South-East Asia, in part driven by the growing palm oil plantation industry. Hunting of primates for food is also a considerable threat, especially in Central Africa.

President of Conservation International and leading conservation scientist, Russell A. Mittermeier described the ‘chilling indictment’ of primates globally:

“We’ve raised concerns for years about primates being in peril, but now we have solid data to show the situation is far more severe than we imagined… …tropical forest destruction has always been the main cause, but now it appears that hunting is just as serious a threat in some areas, even where the habitat is still quite intact. In many places, primates are quite literally being eaten to extinction.”

Two of the 13 red colobus monkeys could already be extinct; Bouvier’s red colobus and Miss Waldron’s red colobus have not been seen by primatologists for 25 and 30 years respectively.

There is some good news however; increasing conservation efforts have had a positive effect on some primates. For example the black lion tamarin and the golden lion tamarin have been downlisted from critically endangered to endangered, after increased protection efforts and successful reintroduction programmes.

The BES would like to invite members and readers of the blog to comment on this topic.

£108m is to be invested by Britain and Norway in a scheme said to provide a viable alternative to logging in the African Congo basin. The Congo rainforest is roughly twice the size of France, but is being deforested at a rate equivalent to 25,000 football pitches a week.

At the launch of the funding event, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “We are pledging to work together to secure the future of one of the world’s last remaining ancient forests.” Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg added that “By doing something about deforestation we can achieve a big and rapid reduction in emissions.” Cutting carbon emissions this way is an order of magnitude cheaper than carbon capture schemes.

Projects that receive investment from the fund will be monitored by high definition cameras on mounted on satellites, to ensure that progess is made in areas that have received government funding.