We encourage authors to put out a press release to make their research more widely available. These press releases find their way into the wider international press, and publicity is good for conservation! If your article is due for publication in Oryx and you would like help or advice with a press release, contact us.
Montserrat's mountain chicken Leptodactylus fallax has become the latest victim of the fungal disease that is devastating amphibians worldwide. Only two small pockets of the animals on the tiny Caribbean island remain disease-free. The mountain chicken is one of the world's largest frogs. Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust plans to take surviving frogs into captive breeding programmes. It is suspected that the chytrid fungus entered Montserrat on small frogs stowing away in consignments of produce from Dominica. The mountain chicken was the subject of a 2007 article in Oryx in which the species was found to be free of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis— a salutory reminder of how quickly this fungus can devestate an amphibian population.
One of the world’s rarest birds has become the target of illegal traders after it was declared a nationally rare species in Indonesia. In 1993 the Javan hawk eagle was declared Indonesia’s National Rare / Precious Animal by former President Soeharto. Prior to this, traders did not recognize the Javan hawk eagle as different from other large eagles. However, following the declaration demand for the eagles soared. Original article: Declaration of the Javan hawk eagle Spizaetus bartelsi as Indonesia's National Rare Animal impedes conservation of the species, Vincent Nijman et al. (2009). Oryx, 43(1),122-128.
Follow-up work on research carried out on the Hispaniolan solenodon Solenodon paradoxus that was originally published in Oryx in October 2008 has now produced rare camera footage of what is one of the world's most elusive mammals. Original article Continued survival of Hispaniolan solenodon Solenodon paradoxus in Hait, Samuel T. Turvey et al. (2008). Oryx, 42(4), 611-614.
Sixteen million of the world’s poor live in the remotest regions and are 'orphans' of major development assistance programmes because of their remoteness and low population densities. Full article What is the role for conservation organizations in poverty alleviation in the world's wild places? Kent H. Redford et al. (2008). Oryx, 42(4), 516–518. Read full press release
The unanticipated effects of rainforest logging on marine turtles in Gabon received wide international coverage (naturenews, ScienceDaily, New Scientist, Conservation Magazine). Logs lost during downriver transport float out to sea and then often wash ashore, where they accumulate on beaches used by nesting turtles. Full article Does rainforest logging threaten marine turtles? William F. Laurance et al. (2008). Oryx, 42(2), 246–251.
Jack rabbits in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem have apparently hopped into oblivion. This research was controversial and Joel Berger's phone didn't stop ringing for weeks. Full article Undetected species losses, food webs, and ecological baselines: a cautionary tale from the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA, Joel Berger (2008). Oryx, 42(1), 139–142 (see also The New York Times, ScienceDaily, LiveScience, and again The New York Times, and also Extant or extinct? White-tailed jack rabbits and Yellowstone's food web, Joel Berger (2008) Oryx, 42(2), 176). Read full press release
