The snail was found in vegetative habitats on several islands, and has survived many previous threats including the introduction of goats and rats to the islands. Scientists were able to rule out the impact of rats because the shells showed little evidence of predation; additionally, because disappearances occurred in both pristine and disturbed habitat, goats were not believed to be the cause of the extinction. Searching for the cause of the disappearance, scientists found that the only factor that has changed over the past 30 years was the climate. While temperatures have not changed significantly on Aldabra, there has been an increase in the frequency of comparatively dry years.

In order to survive dry periods snails often aestivate, a form of dormancy, which helps them conserve water. The Aldabra banded snail was known to aestivate on trees during dry periods. Scientists studying other species have found that adult snails tolerate drying and prolonged aestivation well; however, juveniles suffer increased mortality and recently hatched snails do not survive aestivation. Therefore, if this pattern was also true for the Aldabra banded snail, prolonged dry periods would be expected to cause high juvenile mortality, and therefore fewer adults in that generation. Prior to 1995, dry years were exceptional, allowing the population to recover from bad years. However since 1995, there have been extended runs of dry years -- with only one wet year since 1999. This change in rainfall patterns is associated with the disappearance of juvenile shells. The conclusion was reached that increasing dry periods led to the loss of all juveniles, creating an aging population. The failure of juveniles to survive eventually became so extreme that it resulted in extinction, apparently due solely to climate change.

The extinction of the Aldabra banded snail demonstrates the potential of a coming wave of extinctions as climate change continues. This extinction highlights the complex challenges of climate change as the snail suffered as a result of changing precipitation, not of changing temperatures directly. The snail, like many species, was made more vulnerable by its small range on a few small islands. This extinction also highlights that the present extinction crisis may be much worse than what is currently known from IUCN Red List. While the Red List provides excellent information on the status of species, many species, such as the Aldabra banded snail, have yet to be formally evaluated for inclusion on the Red List. The loss of this small snail is an ominous warning of the vulnerability of all species, and particularly those with restricted ranges, to the threat of climate change.

Scientists at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) have been using a combination of genetic analysis and field work to gain a better understanding of Bradypodion lineages, their ranges, and threats. Mapping the complete area of occurrence of a species is a key part of evaluating its conservation status. Some chameleon species seem to have adapted well to urban gardens which means that many recorded sightings are from areas near towns. While this adaptation is fortunate for the survival of these adaptable species, these few sightings offer little insight into their true distribution. While this is true of some Bradypodion species, many others do not adapt at all to urbanization and habitat change.

In search the true range of Bradypodion caffer, SANBI herpetologists Krystal Tolley and John Measey recently took a field trip to Silaka Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In the past, this species has only been recorded in the small town of Port St. John’s which is nestled into the coastal forest remnants of the MPA Hotspot. As a result of numerous nocturnal forays into the forest of the Silaka reserve, we now know that this tiny reptile is found within the boundaries of a protected area.

“Some of the juveniles are really very small, and not at all easy to find by torch-light in these magnificent forests” said Measey, “But the findings do represent an important record for this species in the MPA Hotspot” Tolley added.

The discovery of Bradypodion caffer in the Silaka reserve was just the first of many from the field-trip to the MPA hotspot. Other MPA chameleons face a great number of threats including habitat transformation (into plantations of Eucalyptus, pine, and sugar cane), fire, and urbanization. These threats have a particularly negative impact on Bradypodion melanocephalum which is endemic to Durban and surrounds. The field work was focused on collecting tissue samples for a genetic study of connectivity and dispersal in this highly fragmented landscape. This species and others closely related to it are strikingly different in appearance, but may be very close genetically. Part of an ongoing project at SANBI, these genetic analyses will give an understanding to exactly how species are related and how different populations are connected.

Chameleons and all other South African reptiles are currently being studied as part of an update of their IUCN Red List status. This SANBI initiative is part of the Southern African Reptile Conservation Assessment (SARCA), the results of which are expected to be published in late 2008.

Fires in wildlands have long been a major threat to biodiversity in many of the world’s hotspots.  One of the biggest obstacles to combating the problem has been delays in communicating information on the location and status of fires.  But, a groundbreaking new partnership aims to change that.  By applying new technology to this old problem, it turns out that fire detection can become as simple as checking email.  In August 2007, a system was launched to provide automated e-mail based alerts to warn of active fires in Madagascar.  This system is the result of a diverse partnership, including the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International (CI), International Resources Group (IRG), Madagascar's Ministere de L'Environnment des Eaux et Forets (MinEnvEF), and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in collaboration with the MODIS Rapid Response System, and the University of Maryland’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) .

While fire can be an important natural process in many ecosystems, in regions not adapted to natural fire cycles it represents an enormous threat to biological diversity.  In addition to the threat from the actual fire itself, fire is also often a proxy indicator for poaching, illegal forest conversion, and encroachment into protected areas. 

Fires can be significant contributors to the release of greenhouse gases; according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), forest fires may account for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions in severe fire years.  The warmer temperatures created by increased levels of greenhouse gases, in turn, may lead to more frequent El Niño events and fires.

The Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands hotspot is home to an incredible amount of biodiversity.  The island of Madagascar is known for its unique flora and fauna including seven entire plant families and five entire primate families found nowhere else -- both the highest of any hotspot.  Each year extensive portions of Madagascar’s agricultural lands, grasslands and forests are engulfed in flames; in 2005 the FAO Global Forest Resources estimated 33,000 ha of forest and 839,000 ha of other wooded land were disturbed by fire.

Protected areas and areas of biodiversity sensitivity are often situated in remote areas where internet access is too slow or unreliable to routinely use full web mapping tools. This innovative partnership builds on information provided by the MODIS and FIRMS systems that were developed to provide near real-time access to satellite observations of fire from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Terra and Aqua satellites.  The Fire Alert System gives access to fire data with fine resolution land cover data to email subscribers by creating notifications ranging from text-based emails with GPS coordinates to GIS shapefiles and custom images of fires occurring within key administrative units and biologically important areas.  This information can be used for fire management or response by government, local NGOs, and partners.  While the new system is currently focusing exclusively on Madagascar, it will be expanded to additional regions in the coming months.

Better than expected news for reptiles came out of a study assessing the conservation status of 721 species of lizards and snakes in North America.  Approximately one-in-eight of the species assessed are considered threatened – with an IUCN Red List status of Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable.  With this information scientists believe that lizards and snakes are currently doing relatively well compared to the one-in-three amphibians and one-in-four mammals considered threatened.  In addition, more than 15% of species were classified as Data Deficient, calling attention to the urgent need for more research on these species.   

The new Red List assessments included species from three Hotspots – California Floristic Province, Madrean Pine-Oak Woodlands, and Mesoamerica.  This assessment confirmed Mexico’s status as not only a megadiverse country, but also a center of reptile diversity second only to Australia for number of species.

These assessments are based upon regional meetings of leading herpetologists to discuss and evaluate these species.  These experts have a wealth of information, often unpublished, which is now available through the IUCN Red List website.

This assessment was conducted by a partnership of NatureServe, the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, and Conservation International.  The results of this study will become part of the Global Reptile Assessment, an effort by the Red List Consortium, which will assess the conservation status of all reptile species.