News

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.

During my 7-week internship with the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group, I acquired invaluable experience and knowledge in the fields of small mammal conservation and research. My primary responsibility was to create a field guide dedicated to Sulawesi’s small mammals, a significant outcome of the Sulawesi workshop held in May 2023. This task involved meticulously compiling resources from red list assessments and articles to develop up-to-date species profiles for Sulawesi’s endemic rodents and shrews. Additionally, I generated range maps for each species, enhancing my proficiency in R programming. I also participated in the review process of an article intended for publication, and was tasked with seeking funding opportunities to support the publication of the field guide. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a resource that will directly benefit researchers and students in Sulawesi.

Prior to this experience, having just completed my undergraduate degree, I held the belief that academia was the sole avenue for pursuing a career in biology. However, this internship has broadened my perspective, revealing that roles involving research and conservation need not be mutually exclusive. Moreover, it has provided me the opportunity to establish valuable connections that will be undoubtedly beneficial for my future career in conservation. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Ros and Abi, whose support and warm welcome into the organisation have made this internship a truly enriching experience.

Imagine a feathery-tailed, round rabbit-like creature munching on grasses in the mountains of Patagonia. This is Wolffsohn’s Viscacha Lagidium wolffsohni, and despite possessing long, rabbity ears, viscachas are actually rodents, most closely related to chinchillas. 

Wolffsohn’s Viscacha: Dario Podesta

There are five extant species of viscacha, all native to South America. Wolffsohn’s Viscacha – officially described in 1907 after J.A. Wolffsohn donated several specimens to the British Museum – is known from the Sierra de los Baguales mountain range crossing southern Argentina and Chile. Viscachas are found across a variety of elevations, favouring rocky cliffs and outcrops. As zoologist Pearson (1948) once put it: “no rocks, no viscachas”.  

Wolffsohn’s Viscachas prefer very steep areas where they have been observed living in colonies and reproducing only once annually (or potentially even less). However, not much else is known about this species. On the IUCN Red List, it remains categorised as Data Deficient.  

Between a rock and a hard place 

Being listed as Data Deficient does not mean that Wolffsohn’s Viscachas are without threat. This species was historically hunted for fur and food by the first inhabitants of Patagonia, and may still be occasionally hunted today. It could also be vulnerable to climate change and the associated impacts upon habitat availability. Other species of viscacha, such as the Southern Viscacha Lagidium viscacia, are reported to be threatened by disturbance, habitat loss and fragmentation, and some colonies are nowadays restricted to isolated patches. 

Quantifying the threats and population trends of Wolffsohn’s Viscachas will be key to updating and understanding the conservation status of this species. This is a knowledge gap that one of the SMSG’s newest members, Morgan Pendaries, is hoping to fill. Morgan is working on a PhD project that will gather ecology, demographic and threat data of Wolffsohn’s Viscacha.  

Working with Wolffsohn’s Viscacha. Left: Morgan Pendaries. Middle, right: Gonzalo Pardo.

Conducting the research alongside Programa Patagonia, Morgan has been carrying out viscacha surveys since 2018. “What I really enjoy about the work after 5 years of study is going to the field and observing the viscachas,” Morgan says. “They are such a gorgeous and curious species that I’m always really happy to just observe them.” 

The work involves capture-mark-recapture surveys as well as efforts to gather data on the social dynamics of a colony, habitat use and interactions with other wildlife. Interviews with local people are also an important element – Morgan and the team want to learn more about viscachas using local knowledge, but also understand public perceptions of these animals.  

Morgan’s work will ultimately help to inform the Red List reassessment of Wolffsohn’s Viscacha and, if needed, drive conservation plans forward for this species. In the meantime, we are looking forward to reading any future research updates on this unusual, rabbity rodent! 

If you’d like to learn more about the project and Programa Patagonia’s work in general, check out their Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/programapatagonia/.  

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.

Sulawesi is a large mountainous island in Indonesia that lies adjacent to the Wallace Line. It’s a hotspot of diverse and endemic fauna, and unique in the sense that it hosts species of both Asian and Australasian origins – there’s nowhere else quite like it.

Why Sulawesi?

In a recent study, the IUCN SSC Small Mammal Specialist Group (SMSG) highlighted Sulawesi as a key region because of its particularly high number of globally threatened and data deficient rodents. However, it’s not just rodents that Sulawesi is particularly rich in. Since that study, at least 14 new shrew species have been formally described from the island. With numerous newly discovered species remaining unassessed on the IUCN Red List, or already-known species lacking up-to-date assessments, the conservation status of Sulawesi’s rodents and shrews is somewhat uncertain.

And so, in May 2023, the SMSG set out to address some of these gaps by hosting the Sulawesi Small Mammal Workshop.  

The workshop

The workshop took place in Bogor, Java, and was funded kindly by an IUCN SSC Internal Grant and through the SMSG’s core funder Re:wild. Small mammal specialists and conservationists travelled from Sulawesi (Tadulako University, Universitas Sulawesi Barat, University of Sam Ratulangi, and PROGRES), Java (Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense) and Australia (Museums Victoria). Collectively, the participants offered a wealth of knowledge on small mammals, records, taxonomy and threats, as well as Sulawesi’s geography, habitats, communities and cultures. 

We started off by applying this knowledge to the Red List assessments which, with 76 species to get through, was no easy feat. The workshop then opened up a discussion of important priorities for Sulawesi’s small mammals. Participants highlighted key research and conservation goals, and we began to identify ways in which we can implement these – we’ll be bringing more updates on this later!

The next steps for the SMSG and workshop attendees will be to submit the updated Red List assessments for publication, work on capacity-building for Sulawesi’s scientists and NGOs through, for example, developing projects on the ground, and also to create outputs such as a workshop report and small mammal field guide. It is hoped that through this work we can help to push small mammal priorities forward in Sulawesi. Watch this space!

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. 

The following article is authored by Ros Kennerley (SMSG Co-Chair), Abi Gazzard (SMSG Programme Officer), and Connor Panter (PhD candidate), and has been republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

You might think you have the measure of the rodent family. Perhaps just the word “rodent” conjures images of invasive rats, those urban denizens accused of spreading pathogens and parasites, chewing through wires and spoiling food.

Most rodents are, in fact, more elusive and inhabit quiet corners of rainforests, mountains, deserts and rivers. These small mammals have filled a niche in nature for at least the last 56 million years, and from shrew-rats to true rats and hamsters to beavers, rodents play an important role in ecosystems worldwide.

Yet, a huge number of rodent species are on the brink of extinction. Eking out an existence in shrinking habitats and under threat from persecution, pollution and climate change, rodents are overwhelmingly neglected by research and funding that might help to protect them. We are three conservation scientists determined to show that this is a mistake – and change your mind about these misunderstood creatures.

Dormice can hibernate for six months or longer. Slowmotiongli/Shutterstock

More than vermin

Roughly 40% of all mammal species are rodents. There are around 2,375 living species, spanning mice, rats, squirrels, hamsters, voles, porcupines, lemmings, beavers, chinchillas, chipmunks and more. The number of recognised rodent species is still growing and at a seemingly faster rate than other mammal groups including bats, primates and carnivores. Between two comprehensive checklists of global mammal species produced in 2005 and 2018, an additional 371 rodents were officially recognised.

New discoveries are often the result of genetic work that has identified multiple similar-looking species previously described as one. Nonetheless, from the 3g desert-dwelling jerboa to the 50kg semiaquatic capybara, rodents are a remarkably diverse bunch.

This diversity allows rodents to play numerous roles in Earth’s ecosystems. Rodents have a hand (or rather, paw) in determining which plants propagate and where by eating and dispersing their seeds. Beavers engineer entire ecosystems with their dams which help to purify water systems and moderate floods and droughts, while burrowing kangaroo rats create subterranean habitats used by other wildlife. Rodents are also an invaluable link in the food chain, sustaining predators which include birds of prey, wolves, snakes and even spiders.

We shouldn’t forget that humans have long benefited from relationships with rodents. Agoutis in South America are one of the few animal groups capable of cracking open the capsules of the Brazil nut fruit. By hoarding excess seeds, agoutis help disperse their trees throughout the Amazon rainforest and support the global production of Brazil nuts, which is almost entirely dependent on wild harvests. African giant pouched rats can detect tuberculosis in saliva, hidden land mines, survivors trapped under rubble and pangolins smuggled in shipping containers. By studying the resistance of naked mole-rats to cancer, scientists hope to improve our understanding of the disease and its potential treatment. It’s clear that the loss of a rodent species – even the smallest – can have cascading consequences for humans and the environment.

A grizzled giant squirrel, native to Sri Lanka. Martin Mecnarowski/Shutterstock

Underfunded, understudied and disappearing

Worryingly, at least 15% of rodent species are threatened with extinction. More than 100 are among the top 560-ranked Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) mammals, meaning that while they are threatened, they also have few or no close relatives. If an EDGE species were to disappear, there would be nothing really like them left.

For many more species, scientists simply don’t know enough to understand how they are faring: the population trend (whether they are stable, declining or increasing) of at least a thousand rodents is unknown. Even when it comes to zoonotic disease, there are substantial gaps in our knowledge of viruses in rodents and how outbreaks might be influenced by their ecology or population dynamics. The reality is that rodents receive very little scientific attention beyond their discovery and naming.

Rodents are a hard sell outside science too. Studies on the public perception of wildlife demonstrate that rodents are generally the least favoured group. Compared to larger-bodied mammals, rodents and small mammals are referred to on Twitter substantially less, not considered as interesting by zoo visitors and inspire fewer donations to conservation schemes. Even the bigger rodents such as beavers are outranked by large carnivores, birds, moths and bees in public preference surveys.

Even beavers can’t beat the anti-rodent bias. WildMedia/Shutterstock

It is no surprise then that some species have already fallen through the cracks. The little Swan Island hutia, a rodent once endemic to Caribbean islands of the same name, was driven to extinction in 1960 by introduced cats. The Candango mouse disappeared during a similar period in central Brazil, where its forest habitat was almost entirely paved over. Australia’s Bramble Cay melomys was declared extinct as recently as 2016 after rising sea levels gradually degraded the tiny coral island on which it lived. The loss of this rodent is thought to be the first modern mammal extinction caused by climate change.

Some rodents remain unstudied for so long that it’s not known whether they still exist. Gould’s mouse, a species also native to Australia, was thought to be extinct for 150 years before it was recently rediscovered surviving on islands off of western Australia. Another, the Namdapha flying squirrel, was thought to be extinct in the wild until a single specimen was collected in 1981 from northeast India. The species is now listed as critically endangered and is currently known only from informal sightings dated decades ago. Of the world’s rediscovered species, the data shows that rodents remain missing for the longest time, probably because there are not enough people looking for them.

Even well-monitored or well-known rodents aren’t safe. The common hamster is listed as critically endangered, and could die out in coming decades unless its decline is reversed. Its popular pet cousin, the golden (or Syrian) hamster, is also endangered in the wild, clinging on to its last fragment of habitat.

Many rodents can adapt well to landscapes altered by people, but others cannot adjust to this rat race and exist only in dwindling and deteriorating wildernesses. It is likely that we have already lost many species which we never even knew existed.

The first step towards recovering many threatened yet overlooked species may be to alter our own perceptions and behaviour. For the little guys like rodents, this means appreciating that even though they are perhaps not as glamorous or mighty as many flagship conservation species, we are far more dependent on their biodiversity than we might imagine.

Read the original article on The Conversation here.