n° 10 November-December 2011

Species of the month : the giraffe

The Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is a ruminant mammal native to the African savannahs. The name “giraffe” comes from Arabic meaning “beautiful.” The giraffe is singled out by its particularly elongated neck that permits it to feed from trees measuring up to 5.80 m in height.

The last census estimated that between 11,000 and 150,000 individuals of the species remained in the wild compared to one million in the 1990s. The giraffe is hunted for its meat and skin. It is also threatened by habitat destruction.

Currently, the largest populations are found in Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana.

Exceptional observation of a bear with three cubs in the Pyrenees

“A female bear accompanied by her three young cubs was observed and photographed by a hiker in the Ariège department, Sunday, October 9th, 2011.

This observation follows a first sighting in late July in the same area except that on that occasion the presence of only two cubs was confirmed. It is probable that this is the same female.

Only the collection of genetic material (hair, feces) will determine the sex of the cubs and the identity of the female.

Several adult females have been identified in the region with two of them likely to have given birth in 2011: Hvala (released in 2006) and Pollen (born in Melles in 2007).

The observation of a litter of three cubs in the Pyrenees is an exceptional event … ”

The photographs that were taken, displayed on the above website, “… show animals who appear to be in perfect health, which allows us to be relatively optimistic regarding their survival.”

http://www.paysdelours.com/fr/observation-exceptionnelle-d-une-ourse-avec-3-oursons-dans-les-pyrenees.html?cmp_id=50&news_id=975&vID=249#975

The FDB establishes a partnership with the Mabuwaya Foundation in the Philippines

The Fonds de Dotation pour la Biodiversité has signed a collaboration agreement with the Mabuwaya Foundation in favor of the conservation of the Philippines crocodile (Crocodylus midorensis). The project titled « Cash for Communities Conserving Crocodiles (4Cs) », aims to provide direct payments to the rural communities for protecting crocodiles. The Philippines crocodile is severely threatened from exploitation and unsustainable fishing methods. It is classified as critically endangered according to the IUCN Redlist. To date only about 250 specimens are estimated to remain in the wild, which requires urgent measures to protect the species.

Rare Siamese Crocodiles Hatched in Lao PDR

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110830193857.htm

ScienceDaily (Sep. 1, 2011) — Working with the government of the Laos Public Democratic Republic, the Wildlife Conservation Society has helped to successfully hatch a clutch of 20 Siamese crocodiles, a species threatened across its range by hunting, habitat fragmentation and loss, and other factors.

Classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Siamese crocodile grows up to 10 feet in length. The species has been eliminated from much of its former range through Southeast Asia and parts of Indonesia by overhunting and habitat degradation and loss.

Hatched from eggs taken from the wild and incubated at the Laos Zoo, the baby crocodiles represent a success for a new program that works to save the Siamese crocodile and the wetlands and associated biodiversity of Laos’ Savannakhet Province.

Launched in 2008 as the Crocodile Resource Management Plan, the project uses crocodile conservation as a means of protecting the larger landscape. The first phase of the project focused on surveys of crocodiles, the wetlands where they occur, and the livelihoods of local communities in Savannakhet Province.

The recently hatched eggs are part of the crocodile replenishment phase of the project, where eggs from wild nests are transported to captive settings in order to boost the survivorship of the clutches. The hatchlings will be released as second-year juveniles, when the reptiles are large and robust enough to avoid mortality in the wild.

Species Affected by Climate Change: To Shift or Not to Shift?

“Relocating species threatened by climate change is a radical and hotly debated strategy for maintaining biodiversity. In a paper published August 10 in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers from CSIRO, University of Queensland and United States Geological Survey present a pragmatic decision framework for determining when, if ever, to move species in the face of climate change…]

[…Managed relocation, also known as assisted colonization, of species involves moving plants or animals from an area that is, or will become, untenable because of climate change, to areas where there are more suitable climatic conditions but in which the plants or animals have not occurred previously.

"While the virtues of managed relocation of species are being debated by the scientific community, the reality is that it is already occurring... - Dr. McDonald-Madden, researcher at the CSIRO and the University of Queensland...]

[…”Without relocating species we are destined to lose some of our most important and iconic wildlife, but at the end of the day we also need viable ecosystems into which we can move species… – CSIRO researcher Dr. Tara Martin”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110810093843.htm

ScienceDaily (Aug. 9, 2011)

Tree Growth and Fecundity Affected More by Climate Change Than Previously Thought

An 18-year study of 27,000 individual trees from over 40 different species by the National Science Foundation (NSF) found that tree growth and fecundity were more sensitive to climate change than previously thought.

The study, published on April 5^th 2011 in the journal Global Change Biology, identified earlier spring warming as one of several factors that affect tree reproduction and growth. They also showed summer drought as an important but overlooked risk factor for tree survival, and that species in four types of trees–pine, elm, beech, and magnolia–are especially vulnerable to climate change.

In conclusion, if all trees of a species grew in the same conditions (same light, moisture, soil and competition for resources), species-wide spatial analysis might suffice. Scientists wouldn’t therefore need to worry about demographic variables and risk factors cannot accurately predict biodiversity loss due to climate change.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2011) - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110404111050.htm

Lacoste mission in China

From May 17th to 22nd, the FDB team traveled with Michel Lacoste to China to participate in the experimental reintroduction of six Chinese alligators, an initiative carried out by Dr. Wu’s research team at Anhui Normal University. The release of these six specimens follows on from the first experimental reintroductions that were carried out in 2006. The localisation of each of the released individuals can be monitored several times a day thanks to VHF equipment, thus allowing for an excellent understanding of the released individuals´ movements and use of space.

Only 120 alligators now remain in the wild, making of this species (endemic to China) one of the rarest crocodile species in the wild. For the reconstitution of the population, the monitoring of the gene pool of the species by the several breeding centers has allowed for the selection of individuals most capable of generating the maximum population diversity.

At the same time, major wetland restoration projects in the region have made possible the reintroduction of the species into the wild.

The latest news from the Chinese alligator program can be found on the FDB´s website: www .fdbiodiversite .org

Tree Growth and Fecundity Affected More by Climate Change Than Previously Thought

ScienceDaily (Apr. 4, 2011)

“Save Your Logo” tracking the movements of Crocodiles and Alligators

Lacoste, the French clothing company with the crocodile logo, is supporting some of our work in the Everglades via “Save Your Logo,” a nonprofit program that coordinates corporate funding for wildlife conservation and research. This project complements our ongoing alligator and crocodile monitoring program which examines patterns of movement and habitat use in Everglades National Park estuaries.

We are outfitting crocodiles and alligators with GPS/Satellite/VHF telemetry units, which provide daily locations and transmit them to the Argos satellite. We download these location data into a geographic information system to create interactive maps like the one you see below. Over the course of this project we will add environmental information, such as water levels and salinity, so users can track the movements of animals in relation to environmental conditions. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan is expected to improve the health of alligators, crocodiles, and their habitats by restoring hydrology and salinity to more natural conditions. Over time, this spatial analysis will help us better understand how crocodiles and alligators are responding to Everglades restoration.

Click a crocodile icon for more information on the animal including a photo, brief description, and the path it has traveled. Location points are plotted approximately twice a week and color coded by month to illustrate long-term movements. Mouse over location points to show the crocodile’s name and the date it was in that location.

The FDB introduces itself to ESCP EUROPE

The Fonds de dotation pour la Biodiversité held a conference last January on biodiversity and the perspectives developed in Nagoya for an audience consisting mainly of ESCP Europe students and alumni.

The conference also gave the opportunity to present the Fonds de dotation, its organization and its action programs.

The exchanges that took place during the conference and the get-together that followed demonstrate the interest there is in the issues at stake in matters of biodiversity as well as the desire to contribute towards conservation actions.

A big thank you to the Grenoble Ecole de Management and to ESCP Europe for having shown their support to this initiative. Given the success of the event, the Fonds de dotation will continue its communication programs in the major learning institutions.

From Paris to the Everglades, Lacoste Protects Logo

French company first to connect its animal logo to the real animal

It’s the hissing and thrashing that give you chills.

When the six-foot-long alligator gets mad that a couple of researchers have dragged it out of the swamp and into their airboat, upset that they’ve taped its snout closed, that’s when you’re absolutely certain this primeval beast would snap your arm off in a heartbeat if it could.

“This animal definitely looks healthy, ” says Dr. Frank Mazzotti of the University of Florida. He and his team measure, weigh, tag, and generally inspect the alligator before recording the data and releasing it back into the waters.

It’s part of the team’s ongoing research into Everglades alligators and their cousins, the much more scarce and formerly endangered American crocodiles. They’re both indicator species, which means if their populations are healthy, chances are the Everglades itself is healthy.

“As we are embarking on what’s the world’s largest ecosystem restoraton project,” Mazzotti says, refering to the massive state and federal effort to restore the badly damaged Everglades, “alligators can tell us whether or not we’re succeeding and whether or not it’s a wise investment.”

Valuable research, but it costs money. That’s where Olivier Chiabodo’s grand idea comes into play: why don’t we get companies that have animals in their corporate logos to sponsor research into those animals?

“We just begin one year ago, and Lacoste was the first company that decided to come with us,” says Chiabodo, the founder of Save Your Logo,a non-profit, all-volunteer foundation based in Paris.

Lacoste is the French company famous for its polo shirts sporting the crocodile logo. On one recent night, Chiabodo was out in the Everglades with Mazzotti’s team, getting a first-hand look at the work that Lacoste is sponsoring.

The company is giving the University of Florida’s crocodilian research program $150,000, which Mazzotti’s team will use to attach satellite transmitters to gators and crocs, something they’ve never had the money to do before.

“That will give us even more information on how they’re responding to ecosystem restoration,” Mazzotti said. “With all the talk that there is from top to bottom of decreases in government spending, finding private sources of money is incredibly important to us.”

What does Lacoste get out of this, besides good public relations? Chiabodo says companies should think of research partnerships as an investment in their own symbols.

“If there is no more crocodiles around the world, they have no more brand, so they need to take care about this, but it is the same with many companies, Ferrari for the wild horses, Puma, MSN for the butterfly, there is a lot around the world,” Chiabodo says.

Save Your Logos’ next partner may be French automaker Peugeot, which uses a lion in its logo. But Chiabodo’s already thinking beyond the corporate world. He’s planning to reach out to college and professional sports teams, asking them to pitch in to save their mascots.

The Gators are already on board. How about Dolphins, Panthers, and Marlins?

http://www.saveyourlogo.org/wp-content/uploads/NBC-Miami-Save-Your-Logo-Lacoste.flv

Find on Miami NBC site, post From Paris to the Everglades, Lacoste Protects Logo.

Un rapace protégé

L’appel Save your logo (sauver votre logo), lancé par le Fonds pour I environnement mondial et l’Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature (UICN), veut inciter les entreprises et les collectivités qui utilisent l’image d’un animal à mobiliser leurs moyens pour sa conservation.

Quand les animaux nomment

Les marques peuvent avoir pour nom celui de leur créateur, un nom inventé, un prénom, un nom géographique, un acronyme… et parfois celui d’un animal qui peut aussi être le logo. Entrons dans la ménagerie.

Animaux & Propriété Industrielle

Le domaine animal et celui de la Propriété Industrielle se rencontrent en bien des aspects, tant en matière de marques qu’en matière de brevets d’invention.

Opération recensement des grands dauphins

Ils sont des centaines à barboter du Cap Fréhel à la Manche, mais ces cétacés restent méconnus • un programme d’étude de trois ans vient d’être lance pour recenser et mieux connaître les grands dauphins sédentarisés du golfe normand-breton.

Recensement des grands dauphins entre Bretagne et Normandie

Ils sont des centaines à barboter du Cap Fréhel à la Manche en passant par les îles anglo-normandes, mais ces cétacés restent méconnus un programme d’étude de trois ans vient d’être lancé pour recenser et mieux connaître les grands dauphins sédentarisés du golfe normand-breton

Opération recensement des grands dauphins dans le golfe normand-breton

Ils sont des centaines à barboter du Cap Fréhel à la Manche en passant par les îles anglo-normandes, mais ces cétacés restent méconnus : un programme d’étude de trois ans vient d’être lancé pour recenser et mieux connaître les grands dauphins sédentarisés du golfe normand-breton.

Val d’Isère s’engage pour la protection des aigles

En 1934, quand Charles Diebold, l’un des fondateurs de Val d’Isère, choisit l’aigle comme emblème pour la station, il ignorait que cette espèce pourrait un jour disparaître. Aujourd’hui, dans le cadre du programme “Save Your Logo”, Val d’Isère participe à la protection des aigles, ainsi qu’à la préservation de la biodiversité de la planète.

L’OL veut sauver le lion

Avec un maillot vierge de toute publicité pour encore quelques mois, Lyon continue d’effectuer des opérations qui font parler. Ainsi, l’OL a fait savoir que dimanche face à Bordeaux, le maillot utilisé porterait le cigle « Save your logo », en référence à une opération destinée soutenir la conservation de la biodiversité, et notamment l’animal symbole du club, le Lion. A Lyon, on n’est jamais mieux servi que par soi-même.

Du bien et du moins bien pour les aigles

Espèce menacée s’il en est, les aigles de Bonelli ont encore perdu deux unités fin août. Une femelle et son aiglon ont en effet été retrouvés morts dans une pièce d’eau à Puylobier (Bouches-du-Rhône). Deux décès dus à l’absorption par les oiseaux de Carbofuran, une substance chimique dont l’utilisation est pourtant interdite en France depuis 2008 !

Un crocodile au secours des crocos

Michel Lacoste est le premier chef d’entreprise français à avoir investi pour sauver l’animal illustrant son logo. En commençant par le gavial du Gange, menacé d’extinction.

Save Your Logo