This year, the UN World Wildlife Day on March 3rd was dedicated to the theme «Big Cats: Predators under Threat». A partnership of institutions from Switzerland involved in Big Cat conservation celebrated the day. The programme expressed the beauty and importance of these wonderful animals, the current menaces to their existence, and the measures needed implementation to ensure their survival. The programme contemplated a symposium organised by the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group to update the conservation status and knowledge about seven big cat species. Leili Khalatbari, a PhD candidate of Biodeserts, presented the current status of Asiatic Cheetahs, the threats to their survival, and the mitigation and conservation actions needed to revert their current decline

Dune gecko (Stenodactylus petrii)

In collaboration with the Natural History Museum and Genetic Resources Bureau of the Department of Environment of Iran and the Regional Office in the Sistan & Baluchestan Province, Biodeserts completed a preliminary assessment of the genetic diversity, population structure and habitat connectivity of the Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris). It was observed low genetic diversity and no population structure. Water index and circuit analyses suggested possible connections among studied sites. Local crocodile populations are vulnerable and maintaining habitat connectivity is crucial for their persistence in the arid south-eastern Iran

Combining ecological modelling and phylogeographic and population genetic analyses, we have shown that three mtDNA allopatric lineages in the spiny-footed lizard Acanthodactylus aureus diversified during the Pliocene-Pleistocene along the Atlantic Sahara. Two main areas of high climatic stability largely fit the regions with highest mtDNA diversity. Mito-nuclear discordances along some coastal regions indicate evidence of gene flow between lineages, which are likely mediated by population expansions and male-biased dispersal. Several geographical barriers to gene flow were also identified. This study highlighted the role of the Atlantic Sahara ecoregion both as a centre of lineage diversification and as a occasional suitable corridor within the Sahara desert. Population retractions and expansions resulting from climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene, facilitated allopatric diversification and genetic introgression processes along this region, whereas stable geographical barriers limited gene flow dynamics

BIODESERTS completed a 30-day field expedition to Morocco. The expedition was set within the scope of an on-going PhD thesis at the University of Porto aiming at studying desert adaptation in North African foxes. A preliminary survey of the Dakhla region was conducted in the first 10 days, using camera traps to locate the presence of canids and to identify potential trapping sites. As a follow-up to the survey, double-door cage traps and leg hold traps were spaced across a line transect near the sites animals were camera-trapped. The animals were sampled to assess physiological data. After handling, all animals were safely released into the wild. All procedures were supervised wildlife veterinary highly experienced in capturing meso- and large carnivores

The Atlas of the Terrestrial Reptiles of Oman was published (open-assess). The project was coordinated by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC; Spain) and gathered over 40 authors from multiple institutions, including Biodeserts. Species richness is highest in the Hajar and Dhofar Mountains, and endemic species richness is greatest in the Jebel Akhdar. Oman’s 22 protected areas cover only 3.91% of the country, including within their limits 63.37% of terrestrial reptiles and 50% of all endemics. Large areas of the climatic space of Oman lie outside protected areas and seven of the 20 climatic clusters are not protected at all. Most of the species are below the conservation target of 17% of their total area within a protected area in order to be considered adequately protected. More than half of the species are still pending of a definitive evaluation by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

João Campos, a Biodeserts PhD student, defended the thesis at the University of Porto. The thesis was entitled “Landscape connectivity and Remote Sensing applications for assessing biodiversity patterns in desert environments”. Congratulations!

Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda)

In collaboration with the Science Faculty of the University of Nouakchott, Mauritania, and the Geography Research Unit of the University of Oulu, Finland, Biodeserts has evaluated the ecotourism potential of water-bodies in Mauritania. Multiple methodologies have been developed to assess the ecotourism potential of sites. However, there are many constraints affecting their quality. We propose a new approach, combining multi-criteria with ordination and clustering algorithms, to circumvent these issues. The method was able to group sites for different ecotourist demands, which has implications for policy makers and tourism planners trying to optimize investments while protecting biodiversity and supporting communities. We provide a framework that is scalable and applicable by stakeholders operating in ecotourism planning and management worldwide

Duarte Gonçalves, a Biodeserts PhD student, defended the thesis at the University of Porto. The thesis was entitled “Integrative inference of evolutionary patterns of desert biodiversity: a spatial and temporal multiscale approach using herpetofauna from North-Africa”. Congratulations!

A new nocturnal gecko of the genus Asaccus was described from Oman: A. arnoldi sp. nov.. The combination of morphological, macroecological and multilocus molecular data supported the presence of two allopatric species within A. gallagheri that split approximately 6 Ma. The newly discovered species is endemic to the Eastern Hajars and is described herein mainly on the basis of its smaller size and high genetic divergence from A. gallagheri. The molecular analyses also uncovered remarkable levels of genetic diversity within both species. The study was conducted by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (Spain) in collaboration with Biodeserts, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (Univ. California, USA), and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (Oman)

We have contributed to the development of a Strategy and Action Plan for the Conservation of the Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) in Tunisia. This threatened ungulate is endemic of North Africa and population size has been continuously decreasing across the range. In Tunisia, the Direction Générale des Forêts, in collaboration with IUCN and the Ministère des Affaires Locales et de l'Environnement, identified the main priority actions to conserve the species. The document is available for downloading