The remote location of many of these caves is only one of the challenges in studying these rare ecosystems.  Scientists had to rappel into caves with their flashlights doing little to illuminate the complete darkness.  The threat of seven-meter-long Nile crocodiles and swimming in water filled with bat guano add to the challenges these researchers face.  As a result of their dedication, several of the scientists became seriously ill for weeks with a mélange of sicknesses they coined “sinkhole fever” after the sunken water system where they made their most important discovery.

The most fascinating find of the trip was a new species of blind fish from the genus Typhleotris.  What makes this species remarkable is that it lives in an isolated sinkhole completely exposed to sunlight.  Most blind species, including other Typhleotris, are found in caves where little or no sunlight penetrates.  Because of the complete darkness found in caves, most species have no functional eyes or body pigment.  The new species is darkly colored, which functions as an effective camouflage from potential predators but remains without eyes despite the full exposure to sunlight.  Phylogenetic research reveals that this species is likely a recent re-colonizer of the surface habitat with ancestors that were white, blind subterranean species.  It presents an interesting example of atavism, where a characteristic lost by ancestors is regained.  The species survives because its habitat remains isolated in a sinkhole with the water level many meters below the land surface.  Living in sinkholes coupled with the species camouflaged coloring has so far prevented the introduction of major predators; however, lack of sight in a lit environment would spell a quick end to this species if an aquatic predator were introduced.

The researchers involved in this project are currently in the process of using molecular and morphological techniques to help explain the ancestral histories of the sinkhole dwelling species they collected.  They discovered that these blind fish share an ancient history across continents and that Madagascar’s cave systems are far more expansive and species rich than previously thought.  Researchers continue to analyze data and make new discoveries about these little-known places and species.

The research team is grateful for funding from a grant by the Niarchos Family to Dr. John Sparks of AMNH.

The lead author, Jan Schipper from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International (CI), discussed the findings in greater depth with us.

What were the main results of your study?

There are a few important “take home” messages. First, over a quarter of the mammals on the planet are threatened with extinction while only a small fraction are recovering. Numerous threats to mammals are increasing around the world, but are disproportionately high in Indo-Burma and Sundaland where habitat loss and exploitation are acting together to spell disaster. Second, threats and species are not evenly distributed but when we map them all out we can see some very strong patterns both on land and at sea. Although Southeast Asia tops the charts in both species diversity and threats, many other parts of the world such as Central Africa and Central and South America are also experiencing very high levels of deforestation and hunting – and in the marine realm the North Atlantic and North Pacific have the greatest number of threatened species.

What does “threatened” mean?

It can mean a great deal of things, but on the IUCN Red List these are species considered to be Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable using a quantitative and robust set of categories and criteria.  Generally, these species have the highest probability of extinction in the near future and should be the focus of immediate conservation attention.

How do you decide if something is threatened?

This isn’t simply a decision that we make on the mammal assessment team. We work with IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Specialist Groups and species experts around the world through workshops and consultation to gather information on the species ecology and conservation status. We collect information including habitat, threats, distribution, conservation measures, and populations.  We compare the evidence to the categories and criteria. We use peer review via our expert network and a consistency check at IUCN to ensure that the standards are being applied evenly and without bias.

There were a lot of people involved -- how did you actually collect all the information?

Over 5 years we held 30 workshops and consulted with more than 1,800 species experts from over 130 countries. The mammal assessment team worked very closely with the IUCN SSC volunteer network to make this all happen – and through partnerships with academic partners including Texas A&M University, Arizona State University and University of Rome, Sapieza. The authorship of the Science paper alone includes 130 people from 100 different institutions.

What was most surprising to you?

We know a lot less about mammals than was commonly assumed, especially marine mammals. There are 836 (15%) Data Deficient species, meaning we do not know enough to assess their status. Among the marine mammals, almost 40% are considered Data Deficient. These facts highlight some clear research and conservation priorities.

Not to sound cynical, but why should people care about every species?

This is always a hard question to answer because it’s a bit of a value judgment. However, I think the ‘value’ of mammals is evident in the key roles they play in ecosystem services (seed dispersal, predation, pollination, etc.) and resulting benefits they provide people (protein/food, recreation, income, etc.). I think that we also need to consider the intrinsic value of wild mammals and the world we want to leave future generations. The fact that we are losing so many species should be a wake up call – as some of our closest relatives (primates) are among the most imperiled.  

Was there any good news?

The good news is that 5% of mammals are recovering in some form – many of which have been the focus of intensive conservation projects.  We need to learn from these cases so we know what works. Now that we know which species to focus on and how conservation can be effective, we still lack sufficient resources to address the breadth of the problem.

What do you hope people do with this information?

We have made all of the data collected – including maps – freely and publically available on the internet at www.iucnredlist.org/mammals. The information can be used to better inform decision making and to increase the transparency of the process. Scientists can access it for research questions and decision makers can use it to see where to focus resources. We firmly believe in making the data free and accessible to improve conservation.

What can the average person do to help protect mammals?

We make decisions every day that impact biodiversity.  Educating ourselves about our own ecological footprint is a good first step.  Many people do not know how their decisions impact species and what alternatives are available. More than 40% of the mammals are declining due to habitat loss – much of which is a result of a global supply and demand chain – and most of the demand is from people in the developed world.  Next time you are in the grocery store think about what it takes to get bananas, pineapples and other fruits year-round – and the same is true when you buy jewelry, tropical hard woods, biofuels, and many other things.  Another important step is to support groups that are working to conserve mammals – in today’s economy researchers and conservationists can use all the help they can get.

To learn more about the results and the IUCN Red List in Spanish, check out this television feature from Spain.

To celebrate the biological richness of the region and to draw attention to its plight, the Indonesian Academy of Sciences convened an international conference on Wallacea in Makassar, Sulawesi in December 2008. The conference was attended by numerous high level dignitaries and policy-makers, including former Indonesian President B.J. Habibie and current Governor of South Sulawesi.  Dozens of leading Indonesian and international scientists contributed presentations on relevant topics including:

• Dramatic speciation in the region’s Limnonectes frogs (Djoko Iskandar, University of Bandung);
• Discovery of the great diversity of monkeys on Sulawesi (Jatna Supriatna, Conservation International);
• Conservation of Wallacea’s megapodes (Marc Argeloo, BirdLife International);
• Long-term biodiversity monitoring including that of the Anoa dwarf buffalos on Buton (Phillip Wheeler, University of Hull);
• Botanical biogeography (Pieter Baas, Nationaal Herbarium Nederland);
• Explosive radiation in fish species in Sulawesi’s ancient lakes, called “Wallace’s Dreamponds” (Fadly Yasin Tantu, Tadulako University); and,
• Mitigating climate change through ‘reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation’ in Wallacea (Daniel Murdiyarso, CIFOR).