ABSTRACT
Human-induced land use change often drives species losses, yet some species can derive benefits from particular land use changes. Thus, case studies of how specific land use changes affect population size for species of interest are essential to their conservation. In this study, wintering bar-headed geese in Caohai, in Guizhou Province in China, were fitted with satellite trackers to assess their use of different land types and the impact of land use changes occurring between 2010 and 2021. We found that bar-headed geese preferentially spent time in arable lands, grasslands, and open water; most foraging occurred in cropland (59.5%) and grasslands (26.4%), while resting occurred in open water (68.3%) and in grasslands (43.5%). The population of wintering bar-headed geese in Caohai increased in size from 1366 to 2803 between 2010 and 2021. A concomitant decrease in cropland area (10.7%) and increase in open water (5.52%) and grasslands (48.45%) positively affected population growth. The use of abandoned croplands reduced human disturbance of goose foraging, while larger water and grassland areas provided more foraging and resting opportunities for bar-headed geese. Our study reveals a positive impact of recent land use changes on waterbird populations and provides a case study for managing human-wildlife relationships and protecting waterbirds and other wildlife.
ABSTRACT
Asian leaf-litter toads of the genus Leptobrachella represent charismatic anuran diversification with 80 species, of which 25 are from China. Recent new discoveries suggest that the diversity of this genus is underestimated. Here, we describe a new species of Leptobrachella, Leptobrachella bashaensis sp. nov. from the Basha Nature Reserve, Congjiang County, Guizhou Province, China. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the following suite of morphological traits: small body size (SVL 22.9-25.6 mm in six adult males and 27.1 mm in one adult female); head longer than wide; dorsal skin slightly shagreened with small tubercles; creamy-white chest and belly with irregular black spots; distinct ventrolateral glands forming a white line; finger webbing and fringes absent; toe webbing rudimentary and lateral fringes narrow; iris bicolored with bright orange in upper half and silver in lower half; dorsal surface of tadpole head dark brown with small, brown, irregular spot, air sac-shaped bulges on both sides of body. The new species differs from all known congeners by an uncorrected p-distance of >5.3% of the 16S rRNA gene fragment examined, and the phylogenetic analysis clusters the new species with L. maoershanensis and L. laui. At present, the new species is only known from a small range of montane evergreen secondary forests in Basha Nature Reserve approximately 900 m elevation. Its natural history and conservation status are discussed.
