Using bioacoustic tools to clarify species delimitation within the Blakiston's Fish Owl(Bubo blakistoni)complex

Although Blakiston’s Fish Owl(Bubo blakistoni) is widely treated as a single species,marked differences in the structure of pair duets between continental and insular populations have been documented.However,no study has quantitatively assessed these vocal differences.We obtained 192 duets from 22 pairs of Blakiston’s Fish Owl:15 pairs of B.b.blakistoni from the Japanese island of Hokkaido and the Russian Kuril island of Kunashir,and seven pairs of B.b.doerresi from Primorye on the Russian mainland.This is a sizeable dataset for such a large,retiring,and rare owl.We conducted bioacoustic examinations of 14 vocal parameters using principal component analysis and the Isler criterion to quantitatively test species boundaries within the B.blakistoni complex.We found that the insular populations on Hokkaido and Kunashir emerged as vocally similar to each other but markedly different from the continental populations of B.blakistoni,corresponding closely with presently accepted subspecies limits.Bioacoustic differences in the duets of the insular and continental groups are greater than the pairwise comparisons of territorial vocalisations between other sympatric owl species.Based on the reproductive importance of vocal duets in owl biology,we propose the taxonomic elevation of the continental subspecies to species level as Northern Fish Owl B.doerriesi.Our study corroborates the importance of bioacoustics in ascertaining species boundaries in owls and has important implications for the management of the two newly delimited species,each likely to be assessed as Endangered.Both species should be managed independently to optimise conservation outcomes.

Indicators of success for smart law enforcement in protected areas:A case study for Russian Amur tiger(Panthera tigris altaica)reserves

Although considerable conservation resources have been committed to develop and use law enforcement monitoring and management tools such as SMART,measures of success are ill-defined and,to date,few reports detail results post-implementation.Here,we present 4 case studies from protected areas with Amur tigers(Panthera tigris altaica)in Russia,in which indicators of success were defined and evaluated at each.The ultimate goal was an increase in tiger numbers to 1 individual/100 km^(2)at each site.We predicted that improvements in law enforcement effectiveness would be followed by increases in prey numbers and,subsequently,tiger numbers.We used short-term and long-term indicators of success,including:(i)patrol team effort and effectiveness;(ii)catch per unit effort indicators(to measure reductions in threats);and(iii)changes in target species numbers.In addition to implementing a monitoring system,we focused on improving law enforcement management using an adaptive management process.Over 4 years,we noted clear increases in patrol effort and a partial reduction in threats.Although we did not detect clear trends in ungulate numbers,tiger populations remained stable or increased,suggesting that poaching of tigers may be more limiting than prey depletion.Increased effectiveness is needed before a clear reduction in threats can be noted,and more time is needed before detecting responses in target populations.Nonetheless,delineation of concrete goals and indicators of success provide a means of evaluating progress and weaknesses.Such monitoring should be a central component of law enforcement strategies for protected areas.