1oC3Dbk

16 members. The size of the group is deliberately kept small
at this stage, as the Chair indicated that in the first years of
incumbency the focus should be on two Critically Endangered
and one Endangered species in tropical/subtropical Asia;
namely Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps), Bengal
Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) and Lesser Florican
(Sypheotides indicus), although this region also hosts the
severely threatened Asian Houbara (Chlamydotis macqueenii).
Members selected to date all have experience relevant to these
species. Expansion of the group is anticipated in due course.
There are many threats to Asian bustards, including rapid
conversion of grassland and traditional farmland to intensive
agricultural production, although in some places also agricultural
abandonment (landscapes reverting to scrub); overgrazing and
increasing habitat fragmentation and disturbance; declines
in habitat suitability through the proliferation of fences, windturbines
and roads; widespread expansion of suspended
cabling across landscapes (see photograph below); subsistence
off-take of adults, juveniles and eggs; sport-hunting and
mismanagement of protected areas.
Throughout the year, informal advice was provided to
the Indian government and Indian conservation biologists
on bustard-related issues, particularly in the lead-in to a
major government meeting to be held in Delhi, where it will
be decided whether to proceed with captive breeding for the
Great Indian Bustard. Research was conducted by members
of the group on the practicalities of this move and a model
created for K-selected species, which may prove useful to
other groups, seeking to assess the probable outcomes of exsitu
intervention. We supported WCS Cambodia and BirdLife
Cambodia in the conservation of the Tonle Sap floodplain
for the dwindling population of Bengal Florican (subspecies
blandini). This included a review of the new action plan for
the species and providing evidence on land use change and
population decline. Some members of the group also form
part of an initiative to assess the status, ecological needs and
migration patterns of a population of Asian Houbara, breeding
in the Kyzylkum Desert, Uzbekistan, some individuals of which
winter in Pakistan. The Chair gave the Second Ravi Sankaran
Memorial Lecture at the Bangalore Student Conference
on Conservation Science on 25 September 2013, with the
subject ‘Inglorious Bustards’ (a review of bustard biology and
conservation).
Professor Nigel Collar
Chair, Bustard Specialist Group
Butterfly Specialist Group
Our aim is to foster the conservation of butterflies and moths
and their habitats around the world. Our Specialist Group
comprises a membership of 150 and a thirteen member
steering committee from seven geographic regions.
The Butterfly Specialist Group (BSG) was formed in late
2010; the group developed a survey of butterfly conservation
needs, and currently over 161 people from 39 countries have
completed the survey (the full survey is accessible here). We
then developed a listserv from these participants and there has
been good dialogue on a number of butterfly conservation
issues and sharing of research ideas and studies. Several
countries are working on assessments of their butterfly fauna.
The BSG Chair has also focused attention on monarch
butterflies and has been engaged at the highest levels with the
government in Mexico and the United States to improve policies
for habitat conservation. The BSG was also a co-sponsor in the
recent workshop on imperiled checkerspot butterflies on the
west coast of the US. This workshop included scientists, agency
staff from the US and Canada and NGO staff.
The Xerces Society has funded four students since the
inception of the BSG through our DeWind Award. Two of these
awards went to students of Butterfly SG members. ‘Land Use
Abandonment in Eastern Mediterranean – effects on butterfly
and moth communities’ and ‘Consequences of selectiveherbicide
use on butterfly populations: evaluating the
magnitude and persistence of negative herbicidal effects on
the demography of a lycaenid’ (Glaucopsyche lygdamus –
Columbia).
The progress of the Butterfly SG has been slower than we
would like for a variety of reasons; we have yet to develop a
coordinated plan for the SG, communications have been
difficult as it is across all time zones and all of the participants
are busy with their own work. Funding is also a limiting factor in
what we can accomplish. We have convened a meeting
associated with the Butterfly Conservation Symposium in the
UK in April 2014. Most of the steering committee members will
be in attendance. The goals of this meeting will be to develop a
draft needs and opportunity based plan that will allow us to
direct resources and technical assistance to areas with the
greatest need and highest potential for our efforts to make a
meaningful impact; identify an RLA for the group, and discuss
how we might fund activities – including coordination.
Scott Hoffman Black
Chair, Butterfly Specialist Group
Asian Houbara. © Andy Swash (WorldWildlifeImages.com) / EBBCC
Taylors Checkerspot. © Dana Ross
38 IUCN species Annual Report 2013