Showing papers by "International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources published in 1988"

Reef and coral communities of Oman, with a description of a new coral species (Order Scleractinia, genus Acanthastrea)

Abstract: The coastline of Oman extends 2000 km from 16.5°N to 26.5°N in the north-west Indian Ocean. Most of it is long, exposed sandy beach or mixed sand and shallow rocky areas subject to severe scour, and there is a seasonal, cold-water upwelling whose influence increases towards the equator. Three areas of the mainland support corals, separated by long stretches of shallow sandy or muddy sublittoral. Three categories of coral or reef development are recognized: (A) coral reefs develop with characteristic profiles of reef flat and reef slope; (B) corals provide framework but there is no reef growth and no characteristic reef profile; and (C) no true reef development occurs, but mixed coral/phaeophyte communities are attached directly on to old, often non-limestone substrate. A and B are common in the north and central regions but are rare in the south. Type C is found in the centre and especially the south where the poor reef development is more typical of marginal, high-latitude coral areas. Ninety-one coral s...

The El Kala National Park and Environs, Algeria: An Ecological Evaluation

Abstract: The structure of the El Kala National Park, its aims, zonation scheme for conservation and development, and boundaries, are described. Those ecobiomes and ecosystems which merit the highest classification and protection within the National Park are described and evaluated along with the numerous sites of similar importance outside the Park. A summary evaluation table (Table III) of the habitats, the species, and the resources for sustainable utilization, is presented.Three wetlands within the Park—Lake Oubeira (perennial freshwater lake: a Ramsar Convention site important for wintering waterfowl), Lake Tonga (semi-perennial freshwater lake with surrounding marsh and earn a Ramsar Convention site with significant numbers of breeding waterbirds), and the Bou Redim marsh (freshwater carr with open water and a breeding colony of herons) are placed in the highest category of protection for the National Park. Four wetlands outside the National Park—the Mkhada marsh (8,900 ha of seasonally-flooded freshwater marsh), Lake Fetzara (15,000 ha freshwater lake now refilled with water in winter), Lac des Oiseaux (40 ha perennial freshwater lake), and the Cheffia Reservoir (3,000 ha)—are considered as important and consequently deserving of legislative protection. A marine section of the Park needs further study.The highest level of protection is recommended for the coastal dunes, including alder carrs, within and outside the Park; for the pristine low-montane Cork Oak woodlands, including the last remnants of Pinus pinaster ssp. renoui in Algeria; for the rare Lusitanian Oak forests including the small and declining Algerian population of Barbary Deer (Cervus elephas barbarus); and for some of the last remaining riverine woodland in North Africa. In addition, the healthy and diverse population of raptors is noted. The megalithic and later archaeological remains are extensive, valuable, and little-known.MEcological improvements to Lakes Tonga and Fetzara, which were drained in the 1930s, have recently developed from the operation of the old sluices to hold water back in the lakes, although at Lake Tonga some of the marginal vegetation and alder forest appears to be suffering from the prolonged inundation. The construction of the large Mexanna Dam within the National Park will desiccate the Mkhada Marsh, and Lake Oubeira may have its ecological character changed if it is used for regulatory storage. The dune ecosystems are being affected by agriculture, groundwater pumping, industrial forestry (including perhaps a pulp mill), and the new road which is being driven into the heart of the dunes. Fishing and aquaculture may further reduce the suitability of Lakes Oubeira and Melah for wintering waterfowl, and deliberate fires continue to ravage the Cork Oak forests.

Vitamin E in Captive and Wild Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

Abstract: The mean plasma level of α-to-copherol (vitamin E) measured in 31 free-ranging black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) was significantly higher (P < 0001) than that in 11 captive animals (x ± SE = 077 ± 005 and 018 ± 003 μg/ml, respectively) Vitamin E status may influence the health of captive black rhinoceros; in particular, it may be linked to hemolytic anemia commonly observed in these animals in captivity

The clouded leopard in Sumatra

Abstract: Few people see the clouded leopard, and its elusiveness makes it a difficult subject for scientific study. In Sumatra, there has been no serious research on the species, and the authors present the scanty information on its distribution there and stress the urgent need for a survey to establish the whereabouts of viable populations.

Biological Diversity and Tropical Forests

Abstract: T conservation of biological diversity has recently become a subject of significant international action. Task-forces in its support have been established by institutions such as the World Bank, and campaigns to improve its prospects are being orchestrated by international nongovernmental conservation organizations. This world-wide concern is largely based on the widespread belief that more species of organisms are becoming extinct in the latter part of the 20th century than at any time in the history of the Earth. A major manifestation of this concern is the significant international effort which is now under way to save the forests of the tropical 'developing world'. These forests are the most biologically diverse biomes on Earth, and many of the present species extinctions are thought to result from their rapid disappearance. The current preoccupation with the conservation of biological diversity leads to a tendency to concentrate conservation efforts in areas where this diversity is greatest. The term 'megadiversity' has been applied in respect of such areas as the Atlantic forests of Brazil, the east-coast forests of Madagascar, Peninsular Malaysia, and parts of the huge island of Borneo. These sites are indeed of very high value for conservation, and consequently merit special international attention. However, a logical extension to this preoccupation with species diversity as a criterion for the application of conservation resources, could lead to unfortunate distortions of conservation programmes, much as can overemphasis on conservation of a single species.

Haematological studies on wild black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) - evidence of an unstable haemoglobin

Abstract: Baseline haematological data were obtained through routine analyses of blood samples from 31 wild black rhinoceroses captured in the Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe. Additional tests showed that the haemoglobin of this population is unstable; this observation helps explain the attacks of acute intravascular haemolysis documented in captive animals.

Jungles, mountains, and islands. How tourism can help conserve the natural heritage.

Abstract: (1989). Jungles, Mountains, and Islands: How Tourism Can Help Conserve the Natural Heritage. World Leisure & Recreation: Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 29-39.