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The SMSG would like to say a huge Thank You to Erin McDonald for her work on a number of Red List reassessments for small mammals. Erin joined the team in the UK for a 6 month part-time internship through Durrell.

Erin McDonald

“During my six-month internship with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group, I have been focusing on drafting global Red List assessments and range maps of small mammals, this included updating previously assessed species and drafting assessments for newly described species. Throughout the internship, I have gained new skills, such as GIS, and developed my knowledge of small mammal ecology and habitats. The desire to learn more about the Red List framework began following a lecture from Dr David Mallon in which I was informed about the global and regional assessor exam, after I completed this, I wanted to put the knowledge I had learnt into practice and offered my help to the SMSG. Abi and Ros guided me through the process of drafting assessments and range maps in line with IUCN guidelines. Throughout this time, I have drafted assessments for many small mammal species, from hedgehogs to shrews, which will be sent off to species experts before finalisation and uploaded to the IUCN Red List site. It will be both exciting and rewarding to see the species assessments I contributed towards published online.

I am currently studying for an MSc in Conservation Biology at Manchester Metropolitan University and this opportunity has allowed to me gain valuable skills and knowledge that I can transfer into my future conservation career as well as providing me the opportunity to build connections with experts in the industry. I am grateful to Ros and Abi for their guidance throughout my internship and for giving me such a great opportunity.”

Here are just a few of the species that Erin has worked on:

We are thrilled to have a small mammal theme for a new placement through Durrell. Salomé has joined us, having previously completed the DESMAN course in Jersey. Salomé is currently based in Colombia. For her internship she is getting to grips with the Green Status of Species and will be developing several small mammal assessments. Having recently updated the Red List accounts for European species, we will be working on a number of these where Green Status assessments would be beneficial.

“I’ll be doing a three-month internship with Durrell, where I’ll be supporting the Specialist Group in conducting Green Status assessments for small European mammals. This incredible opportunity came about through networking efforts following my completion of the Durrell DEMSAN course last April, during which I gained insights into the purpose and significance of Green Status assessments.

Joining this team is immensely exciting for me as it presents a chance to delve into the process of conducting assessments firsthand. It’s the perfect opportunity to apply the new framework I’ve learned about, which aims to quantify measures of species recovery and conservation success. As an early career conservation biologist, I’m particularly drawn to the Green Status’s focus on understanding how past conservation efforts have impacted species recovery and how current and future actions can contribute to their conservation with a comprehensive and ecologically functional approach. This opportunity will also give me the chance to interact with species specialists and learn about their conservation work on new species for me, which is really exciting!

This aligns perfectly with my overarching goal of comprehending the influence of conservation practices on species recovery. I’m eager to contribute to this innovative approach that transcends survival and extinction avoidance, so I am very excited with the prospect of participating in the development of assessments within this framework.”

The development of the IUCN Green Status of Species Global Standard was led by the IUCN Species Conservation Task Force, in partnership with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN Species Survival Commission, Re:wild, Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Oxford, Stony Brook University, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Zoological Society of London.

Russian Desmans (Desmana moschata) are semi-aquatic creatures related to moles, with an unusual appearance of rounded bodies, paddle-like feet, flattened tails and long snouts to help them dive and probe for prey underwater. They are the only species that still exist within their genus, and are restricted nowadays to few waterways in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Sadly, numbers of these small mole-mermaids are plummeting: Russian Desmans have been “up-listed” from Endangered to Critically Endangered in the latest IUCN Red List Update (Monday 11th December).  

Based on surveys undertaken in Russia, the decline of this species is estimated to have reached 83% over the previous decade, and it likely facing a similar scenario across the remainder of its fragmented range in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Scientists have suggested that there are probably less than 4,000 individuals remaining in Russia, and potentially only a few hundred in Ukraine.  

Russian Desman (Photo credit Klaus Rudloff)

Russian Desmans have rather strict habitat requirements. They prefer waterbodies 2-6 m in depth with rich water-marsh vegetation, bushes and primary forests along the banks, and with high macroinvertebrate abundance.

It is no surprise, then, that infrastructure-, climate- or pollution-induced changes to waterbodies can have devastating impacts on habitat quality for this species. Perhaps more lethally, the widespread use of stationary fishing nets poses a major threat to desmans. The nets, which are prohibited in many regions, are often left in the water for days or even months, drowning any desmans that accidentally get caught. Introduced predators, e.g., American Mink (Neogale vison), and possible competitors, e.g., Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), may also be a problem.

What’s next? 

In Kazakhstan, the SMSG is supporting a new conservation project with the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) and researchers at North Kazakhstan University. Initially, the project will explore methods of monitoring desmans, including interview surveys with local water users and environmental DNA screening. Read more about this in our recent article here.

Russian Desmans are often referred to as bioindicators of ecosystem health. Their decline is therefore concerning for freshwater habitats and species on a much broader scale, and it is critical that every effort is made to conserve and, ultimately, downlist Russian Desmans on the Red List.

Russian Desman (Photo credit Klaus_Rudloff)

The Iberian Desman

Desmans are semi-aquatic small mammals that are members of the Talpidae mole family. The Iberian Desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, where it is restricted to Andorra, France, northern and central Spain, and northern Portugal. It is one of only two species that still exist, the other being the Russian Desman (Desmana moschata), that is found in areas of Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

The species is extremely well adapted to a semiaquatic lifestyle, where it mainly lives in fast-flowing mountain streams. The species favours watercourses where the margins offer some shelter, and it requires clean and well oxygenated water, mostly due to the requirements of its main prey, aquatic macroinvertebrates. It is therefore a good indicator species for healthy river systems.

Galemys pyrenaicus, photo credit: L. Quaglietta

In recent decades, the Iberian Desman has experienced significant declines across most of its range, resulting in its current IUCN Red List status of Endangered. Unfortunately, the species is affected by a number of threats. The construction of weirs, dams and other infrastructure has isolated populations to the point of high levels of inbreeding and low levels of genetic diversity. The introduction of an invasive predator to many of Europe’s waterways, the American Mink (Neogale vison), has also proven deadly. Further pressure is added by climate change and human activities such as fishing.

The Workshop

Iberian Desman workshop 2023 sign

In late November 2023, the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation organised a workshop in Andorra La Vella, Andorra, titled “Towards a transboundary conservation strategy for the Iberian desman (Galemys pyrenaicus)“. This meeting brought together species experts from the four range countries. The workshop was made possible thanks to the generous support and hosting of the event by the Ministry of the Environment, Agriculture and Agriculture of the Government of Andorra. Facilitation of the sessions was undertaken by the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group.

On the final day, participants visited a local hydroelectric plant and dam on the outskirts of Andorra La Vella to find out about the ongoing desman survey work that is taking place and about various mitigations activities to reduce the impact of the infrastructure on the desman population.

Iberian Desman workshop participants 2023

Iberian Desman workshop presentation 2023

Iberian Desman workshop 2023 field trip

Iberian Desman workshop 2023 activity

What’s next?

The workshop was the first stage needed to do the groundwork, such as identifying relevant stakeholders for the planning process, in anticipation of a longer action planning exercise which will hopefully take place in 2024.

Recently, we heard someone trying to describe what a Russian Desman (Desmana moschata) looks like and the delightful response was that it resembled a mole-mermaid!  Unfortunately, life is no fairytale for this species. Currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, it is expected that the species will be moved to Critically Endangered later this year due to continuing severe declines. Conservation attention is desperately needed, so the SMSG is pleased to be supporting a new conservation project in Kazakhstan. We hope this work, in collaboration with experts across the species’ native range, will contribute to the understanding of the threats to the species and be instrumental in developing conservation actions.  

So, what exactly is a Russian Desman?

The Russian Desman (Desmana moschata), an aquatic member of the mole family, is endemic to waterways in European Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. The species is pretty unusual, indeed, it features high up on ZSL’s EDGE Mammal List. To get an idea of what this unusual animal is like check out this video. The species is in severe decline, probably due to a number of factors ranging from loss and degradation of lakes and rivers, through to getting snagged up as bycatch in fishing nets.

Abandoned fishing net in lake (Photo credit: R. Kennerley)

June expedition

In June of 2023, Dr Ros Kennerley (SMSG Co-Chair) and Prof. Sam Turvey (SMSG Conservation Coordinator) visited the stunning rivers and oxbow lakes that surround the Ural river in northwestern Kazakhstan to start a conservation project in the region.  The in-country partners for this project are the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan (ACBK) and researchers at North Kazakhstan University. One of the project fieldsites is Kirsanov Nature Sanctuary, which is a vast expanse of meandering rivers and lakes with wooded banks that borders Russia.

Kazakhstan Russian Desman team – Dr Ros Kennerley, Prof. Sam Turvey, Dr Alyona Koshkina and Michail Shpigelman

Fieldwork in Kirsanov Nature Sanctuary in Northwest Kazakhstan (photo credit: R. Kennerley)

Visiting an oxbow lake (Photo credit: A. Koshkina)

What is happening? 

Field staff have been trained up and are currently out and about testing novel ways to collect the essential data needed to monitor and inform conservation actions. Interview surveys with local water users and environmental DNA screening are being trialled in known desman landscapes, and the results of these will be compared with data collected using traditional methods to monitor desmans by counting active burrows. The project aims to determine which approach is most efficient, cost- and labour-effective, and easy to conduct by local researchers.

Trialing a Local Ecological Knowledge questionnaire (photo credit: R. Kennerley)

Next steps

While we await the data and analyses from the trials, the project will examine the historical distributions of the species across the country and use various mapping data layers to unpick the likely causes of decline in Kazakhstan. Ultimately, the project aims to develop a long-term conservation monitoring and management plan with agreed goals, visions, milestones and stakeholder responsibilities, at both national and landscape levels.

We would like to express our huge thanks to our three funders for this project: The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, SSC EDGE Internal Grant, and Stiftung Artenschutz. We are also grateful for the support to our SMSG core costs from Re:wild, the Zoological Society of London and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Our team based in the UK is delighted to have been joined by student Thi Nguyen on a summer internship placement 

Summer intern Thi

During my internship with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group, my primary focus is on developing a comprehensive field guide dedicated to the small mammals of Sulawesi. This was a significant outcome stemming from the Sulawesi Small Mammal Workshop that took place in May. Throughout this project, I look forward to learning more about small mammals and collaborating with others. Prior to this internship, I completed my third year of studying biology at the University of Oxford, during which I developed my interest in conservation science. I am particularly interested in human-wildlife conflict, and the strategies needed to mitigate these for optimal conservation outcomes. Next year, as part of my integrated masters, I will be investigating the mechanisms by which habitat degradation influences gharial reproductive fitness through its impacts on female aggression. Through this, I hope to provide valuable insights for conservation efforts targeting this critically endangered species.

Overall, I am excited to be joining SMSG for a period as this opportunity aligns well with my career aspirations and allows me to make a meaningful contribution to the field of conservation.

Many poorly-known small mammals have remained undetected for decades. It’s not all doom and gloom though: a recent scientific paper “Continued survival of the elusive Seram orange melomys (Melomys fulgens)” documents that a species previously unrecorded since 1920 appears to be surviving on the island of Seram, Indonesia. Hopefully this is good news not just for this species, but for other ‘Lost’ mammals of Seram.

The paper is co-authored by two of the SMSG core team- Prof. Sam Turvey (ZSL) and Dr Ros Kennerley (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) and describes evidence of the survival of Melomys fulgens, a distinctive orange murid. M. fulgens is one of five endemic rodents described from Seram, known only from their first official descriptions – some of which date back to over a century ago – and having remained undetected in surveys ever since.

The evidence for the survival of the Seram Orange Melomys in the latest research paper comes from expeditions in 1993 and 1994, plus a more recent study of local ecological knowledge in 2017.

1993/94 expeditions

Two trips to the island were made during these years and three individuals of the species were captured, proving that the species was extant in the 1990s.

Melomys fulgens in a cage. Credit: K. Leus

Melomys fulgens in cage. Photo credit: National Museums Scotland

Melomys fulgens specimens. Photo credit: National Museums Scotland.

Using Local Ecological Knowledge

In 2017 interviews took place with people in six villages along Seram’s north coast. The questionnaire asked about people’s knowledge of local wildlife and forest activities and the results provided valuable insights into the fauna and how people use the landscape. Excitingly, several respondents said that they had seen the species in the previous months and recent years.

What does this mean for its conservation?

Findings indicate relatively widespread distribution of M. fulgens in coastal forest across Seram, including sites adjacent to Manusela National Park (see map), with local suggestions that it occurs throughout the lowland forest zone to its upper elevational limit. This means that using the limited known localities and continuing loss of Seram’s lowland forest, we propose a new Red List assessment of Vulnerable. The next steps are to work with local NGOs to consider conservation actions to help bolster the species.

Map of Seram, showing collection
locations of Melomys fulgens specimens and
reports (white circles), and boundary of Manusela National
Park.

This rediscovery not only raises hope for the continued survival of Seram’s other ‘lost’ mammals and tropical small mammal diversity in general, but also demonstrates the importance of local ecological knowledge in detecting distinctive species in poorly-studied regions. 

To find out more about Re:wild’s Lost Species click here.