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Two surveys of opinions about wildlife conservation were carried out in Hunan Province, China, before and after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic. Hunan is the northern neighbor of Guangdong Province, where the first SARS case was reported. The custom of consuming wild meat was not common in Hunan 30 years ago. However, in recent years, consumption of wildlife such as snakes has spread to northern China. We handed out 1300 questionnaires between 22 February and 10 May 2002, before the SARS epidemic. Survey sites included the provincial capital, major cities, towns, and villages in Hunan. Another 1300 questionnaires were distributed between 10 March and 10 May 2004, after the SARS epidemic. The 2004 survey covered the same sites as the 2002 survey. Questionnaire recovery rates for the 2002 and 2004 surveys were 81.2% and 84.6%, respectively. The valid return rate was 73.0%. Frog, snake, hare, and pheasant were the wild meats most frequently eaten by local people. At the time of the first survey, more than 80% of interviewees claimed to have eaten frogs. That number had reduced to 60% by the time of the second survey. Monkey, Chinese pangolin, and bear paw were the wild meats least frequently eaten. Although palm civet was suspected to be the carrier of SARS, it was interesting to note that, after the SARS epidemic, the proportion of people surveyed who ate palm civets had declined only slightly. The results of the surveys indicate a low level of conservation consciousness; however, after the SARS and bird flu epidemics, there were obvious changes in the conservation consciousness of people in Hunan Province. We recommend some measures that could be taken to change the habits of people who consume wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the purchase of snakes for leather, food, and traditional medicine has increased in China, which has greatly reduced certain snake populations. Trade records show that since the 1990s, with respect to some species of snakes, China is changing from a net export country to a net import country. We analyzed data on international trade in snake species, concentrating, in particular, on trade dynamics and species composition. The overall number of snakes exported appears to have decreased in the last 10 years. However, the number of snakes imported during this period has increased steadily. Many species of snakes that are traded in significant numbers are endangered or threatened species. To conserve snakes in China, we recommended that the Chinese government and the international conservation community take the following actions: enhance legislation and list several species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) appendices; register all snake farms in China; carry out population and market surveys; monitor the dynamics of trade; encourage biological research; encourage change in food habits; and enhance cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which examined the reintroduction of Pere David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) in China. Study sites and methods; Results and discussion.

The gastrointestinal tract of primates harbors a complex microbial community, playing an essential role in the degradation of otherwise indigestible structural carbohydrates. The phylogenetic and functional diversity of the bacterial community in the feces as a surrogate for the gastrointestinal tract of wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana, N = 6) was characterized based on sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes. A sex comparison was conducted, with a prior hypothesis that the abundances of the bacterial taxa and/or functional categories associated with energy and nutrient metabolism would be higher in adult females (N = 3) due to the higher reproductive costs compared to adult males (N = 3). Ten phyla were identified in all samples, among which Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were the predominant. Included in the above two phyla, the members of Prevotellaceae (Prevotella in particular) and Ruminococcaceae were highly abundant, which are common bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of primates and can degrade various structural carbohydrates such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. This functionality was in line with the high abundances of the metagenomes associated with carbohydrate metabolism. Consistent with our hypothesis, the abundances of the metagenomes associated with energy metabolism, folding/sorting and degradation, glycan biosynthesis and metabolism, and metabolism of amino acids were higher in adult females relative to adult males. Sex differences were also detected in the bacterial community structure, although no sex differences in the proportions of any bacterial taxa were found likely due to the small sample size. These results suggested that gastrointestinal bacterial communities may aid adult females in increasing energy and nutrition utilization efficiencies compared to adult males. Fecal bacterial communities were found to be more similar between individuals in adult females than in adult males. Our study presented the first examination of the fecal bacterial diversity of a little-studied, endangered foregut fermenter., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)