Original Fei Yiling et al. Journal of Nanjing Forestry University
Thesis recommendation
Analysis of illegally hunted amphibians and reptiles in Jiangsu Province in the past three years
Fei Yiling, Hou Lin*, Tang Songze
Key Laboratory of Wildlife Evidence Technology of State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Nanjing Forest Police College.
In recent years, excessive illegal hunting and online trade have driven wild populations of animals to extinction, mainly amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Amphibians and reptiles are an important source of wildlife criminal cases at home and abroad in recent years. However, systematic research on the characteristics of the animal species involved in the case and the occurrence of the case is very lacking. To this end, the authors recommended in this paper analyze the characteristics of amphibians and reptiles involved in the case in Jiangsu Province from 2017 to 2019, analyze the illegal hunting of animals, and provide a reference for preventing and combating illegal animal trade and wildlife protection.
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About the Author
Corresponding Author
Hou Lin, male, born in 1972, Ph.D., professor, master supervisor, is currently the director of the Key Laboratory of Wildlife Physical Evidence Technology of Nanjing Forest Police College of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, mainly engaged in teaching, scientific research and identification of wild animals, and has won the second prize of the Ministry of Public Security's Teaching Achievement Award, and the third class of individual merit.
First author
Fei Yiling, female, born in 1985, master's degree in zoology of Nanjing Forestry University, is now working at the Nanjing Forest Police College, serving as the director of the case office of the Forest Public Security Judicial Appraisal Center of the State Forestry Administration, mainly engaged in teaching, scientific research and identification of wild animals, and has won the third class of personal merit.
Keywords: amphibians; reptiles; illegal hunting and trade; wildlife protection
Fund Project: General Project of Philosophy and Social Science Research in Jiangsu Universities (2020SJA0579); Special Fund Project for Basic Scientific Research Business Expenses of Central Universities (LGZD202006).
Citation format: Fei Yiling,Hou Lin,Tang Songze. Analysis of illegally hunted amphibians and reptiles in Jiangsu Province in the past three years[J.Journal of Nanjing Forestry University (Natural Science Edition), 2021,45(2):225-230.FEI Y L,HOUSL,TANG S Z.Analysis of illegal hunting cases of amphibians and reptiles in Jiangsu Province over the past three years[ J]. Joumal of Nanjing Forestry University (Natural Sciences Edlition) ,2021 ,45(2):225-230.DO1; 10.12302/j.issn.100O-2006.202005005.
1 Purpose
Analyze the characteristics of amphibians and reptiles in wildlife cases in Jiangsu Province, understand the trend of illegal wildlife trade, and provide a basis for preventing illegal hunting and protecting wildlife resources.
2 methods
Based on the basic data of amphibian-related reptile cases in Jiangsu Province from 2017 to 2019 provided by the Forest Public Security Judicial Appraisal Center of the State Forestry Administration, the basic laws of amphibian and reptile case types, number of cases, time and areas involved in the case, types, numbers, protection levels, and correlations between species involved in the cases in the past three years are analyzed.
2.1 Test materials
The landform of Jiangsu Province is dominated by plains, with hills, mountains and water environments, and the complex and diverse natural geographical environment promotes a wide variety of wild animals. There are 604 species of wild animals in the province, accounting for about 23% of the total number of wild animals in the country, including 79 species of mammals, 448 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, and 21 species of amphibians. In addition, the transportation is developed, the economy is prosperous, and the wildlife breeding, trade and other industries are prosperous, and its illegal trade has always existed. The data of the animals involved in the case are all derived from the Forest Public Security Judicial Appraisal Center of the State Forestry Administration.
▲ Fei Yiling author in the State Forestry Administration Forest Public Security Forensic Appraisal Center laboratory to view the case data
▲The animal involved in the case, the spoke tortoise
▲ Hou Forest author in the State Forestry Administration Forest Public Security Judicial Appraisal Center on the scene of the relevant cases to do the species identification of wild animals
3 results
(1) In the past three years, amphibian and reptile cases in Jiangsu Province have shown an upward trend year by year, of which the number of turtle and turtle cases and the number of species involved in the case have the highest annual growth rate. (2) Among the amphibians and reptiles involved, 76.0% of the species were listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention) and the List of Terrestrial Wild Animals of Important Ecological, Scientific and Social Value Protected by the State. (3) In 66.0% of the cases, more than I species of animals were involved. Animals belonging to the same order are most associated in the same case. There is a positive association between caudates and suborders of snakes, suborders lizards and turtles, suborders lizards and crocodiles, and tailless and suborders of lizards, and their associations are reduced sequentially. (4) According to the administrative division of the unit submitted for inspection, amphibian and reptile cases in Jiangsu Province are distributed in 13 prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province, and the distribution area covers the whole province. Among them, Nanjing, Yancheng and Xuzhou are the cities with the largest number of cases, accounting for 51.3% of the total number of cases in the province. Cases of anulous animals are mainly distributed in Yancheng; Crocodile cases are mainly distributed in Nanjing; Turtle and tortoise cases are mainly distributed in Nanjing and Wuxi; Suborder cases were mainly distributed in Xuzhou and Nanjing; Cases of suborder lizards are mainly distributed in Nanjing and Changzhou. Turtles and lizard suborders are often seen in the pet market; Suborder snakes are often found in pet markets and catering markets; Tailless animals are often found in the catering market. (5) According to the time distribution of cases, the high incidence of amphibian and reptile cases in Jiangsu Province is from May to September. Among them, the number of cases of tailless animals was the highest in August; The number of cases of turtles and turtles was highest in September, and the number of cases of suborders was highest in June; There are cynodonts lizards and crocodiles that have a relatively scattered incidence of crimes.
3.1 Composition of amphibian and reptile species involved in the case in Jiangsu Province
In 2017, there were 286 amphibious crawling cases in Jiangsu Province, and 314 cases in 2018, an increase of 9.8% year-on-year; In 2019, there were 401 cases, an increase of 27.7% year-on-year, a total of 1,001 cases. Among them, the upward trend of turtle and tortoise cases is the largest, with an average annual growth rate of 197.0%; The upward trend of suborder snakes is slower, with an average annual growth rate of 10.4%. The number of cases of suborder lizards and cauldrons showed a trend of first declining and then rising; Only the number of cases of crocodiles and tailless orders has shown a continuous downward trend in the past 3 years. According to the name of the case, the cases are divided into four categories: illegal hunting (Type I), concealment and concealment of criminal proceeds (Type II.), illegal hunting and killing of rare and endangered wild animals, illegal acquisition, transportation, and sale of rare and endangered wild animals and their products (TypeIII.), and other types of cases (Type IV.) (Table 1). The crimes of illegal hunting are mainly anonymis, followed by suborders; The main criminal objects of the case of concealing and concealing the proceeds of crime are also the tailless and suborder animals, but the number of cases is significantly less than that of illegal hunting; The crimes of illegal hunting and killing of rare and endangered wild animals and illegal acquisition, transportation and sale of rare and endangered wild animals and their products are mainly turtles and turtles, followed by suborder snakes, followed by suborder lizards, with the largest number of such cases; the distribution of criminal objects in other types of cases is relatively average, and there is little difference between the various items.
▼Table 1 Amphibians and reptiles involved in the case in Jiangsu Province from 2017 to 2019
After investigation (Table 2), it was found that from 2017 to 2019, the number of amphibians and reptiles involved in 96 species in Jiangsu Province was 74,391 or striped, belonging to 70,031 amphibians and 6 species of tailless orders; There are 19 tail orders of 2 species; Reptilia 1,769 turtles of 44 species; 2108 snake suborder 21 species; 408 lizard suborders of 21 species; Crocodiles are 2 species and 56. With the exception of the tailed order, the species involved in the case generally showed an upward trend. The upward trend of turtles and tortoises is the most obvious, and the number of species involved in 2019 is more than twice that of 2017, exceeding the sum of 2017 and 2018.
▼Table 2 Statistics on the number of amphibian and reptile species and individuals involved in the case in Jiangsu Province in 2107 and 2019
Among the amphibians and reptiles involved in the case in Jiangsu Province, 23 species are native to Jiangsu Province, of which 6 are tailless and 1 is tailed, accounting for 33.3% of amphibians in Jiangsu Province; There are 7 species of turtles and turtles, 1 species of lizard suborder, and 8 species of suborder snakes, accounting for 28.6% of the reptiles in Jiangsu Province. In recent years, the alien species involved have shown an upward trend. In 2017, there were 110 cases of alien species involved in Jiangsu Province, and 207 cases in 2018, an increase of 88.2% year-on-year; In 2019, there were 349 cases, an increase of 68.6% year-on-year. There are 55 species of alien species involved, of which there are up to 30 species of turtles and tortoises, accounting for 54.5%; It is followed by 16 species of lizard suborders, accounting for 29.1%; 6 species of snake suborder, accounting for 10.9%; 2 species of crocodiles, accounting for 3.6%; There is 1 species of tail order, accounting for 1.8%.
3.2 Protection level of amphibian and reptile species involved
From 2017 to 2019, the protection level of amphibians and reptiles involved in the case in Jiangsu Province is shown in Figure 1.
There are three species of national key protected animals (hereinafter referred to as Level I), namely 20 testudo horsfieldii, 1 round-nosed monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), and 98 sips (Python biilttatus); There are 7 species of national second-level key protected animals (hereinafter referred to as Level II), namely 32 tiger frogs (Hoplobatrachus chinensis), 17 Chinese big bao (Andrias davidianus), 244 tortoiseshell (Eretmochelys imbricata), 19 geoemyda spengleri (geoemyda spengleri), and chelonia (Green Sea Turtle). 60 mydas, 6 cuoratrifasciata, 2 geckos; There are 31 species (72,143 or articles) of terrestrial wild animals with important ecological, scientific and social value protected by the state (hereinafter referred to as Sanyou, ESASV); There are seven species of animals belonging to Appendix I (hereinafter referred to as Appendix I) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention) (2017, 2019 editions), namely 170 Astrochelys radiata, 14 Blackpool turtles (Geoclemys 7hamiltonii), 2 Astrochelysyniphora, and 2 Burmese Star Tortoises (Geochelone 5 platynota, 2 Melanochelys tricarinata, 2 cyclura cornuta, 55 Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis); There are 35 species of animals (1 436 animals or articles) belonging to Appendix II of the CITES Convention (2017, 2019 Edition); There are 13 species (63 or strips) of unprotected animals.
3.3 The amphibian reptile taxa and interspecific associations involved
From 2017 to 2019, there were 1,001 amphibian and reptile cases in Jiangsu Province, with a total of 1 662 cases involved according to each species, of which 661 cases involved at least two species, accounting for 66.0% of the total cases. Homomorts as well as crocodiles and turtles and turtles have the highest associations, with an association coefficient of 1, such as pelophylax nigromaculalus and pelophylax plancyi of the same genus of the group of amphibian tailless butterflies, Gcochelone pardalis and Geochelone sulcata Often appears simultaneously in a case with a high correlation; The second is the order Caudate and suborder Snakes, with a correlation coefficient of 0.98, for example, the Chinese bald and Elaphecarinata often appear together in the case; The third is the suborder Lizards and turtles, with a correlation coefficient of 0.77; The fourth is lizards and crocodiles with a correlation coefficient of 0.71, and the fifth is anonymis and lizards with a correlation coefficient of 0.30. The association coefficients of tailless and tailed orders, suborder snakes, turtles and turtles, and crocodiles are negative; The association coefficients of caudal orders and turtles, suborder lizards, and crocodiles are negative; Suborder Plesiosaurs have negative correlation coefficients for turtles and turtles, suborder lizards, and crocodiles, and their simultaneous appearance in cases does not have any correlation (Figure 2).
Figure 1 Protection level of amphibians and reptiles involved in the case in Jiangsu Province in 2017 and 2019
Figure 2 Amphibian and reptile-related heat map of the case in Jiangsu Province in 2017 and 2019
3.4 Geographical distribution and species composition of amphibian and reptile cases
According to the zoning of the units submitted for inspection, from 2017 to 2019, there were 715 cases involving tailless animals in Jiangsu Province, mainly distributed in Yancheng, accounting for 36.1% of the total number of cases of tailless animals; There were 606 cases involving turtles and tortoises, mainly distributed in Nanjing and Wuxi, accounting for 55.9% of the total number of turtle and turtle cases; There were 202 cases involving suborder snakes, mainly distributed in Xuzhou and Nanjing, accounting for 60.8% of the total number of suborder cases; There were 84 cases involving suborders of lizards, mainly distributed in Nanjing and Changzhou, accounting for 55.9% of the total number of cases of suborders of lizards; There were 39 cases involving crocodiles, mainly distributed in Nanjing, accounting for 59.0% of the total number of crocodile cases (Table 3). From the perspective of the distribution of the species involved, there are 56 species involved in the case in Nanjing, of which 18 species are only found in the Nanjing case, such as the great gecko, the spiny-breasted frog (Quasipaaspinosa), the Great Eastern turtle (Heosemys grandis), the golden ring snake (Bungarus fasciatus), the macrochelys temminckii, the colorful chameleon (Furcifer pardalis), the tuanhua brocade snake (). Elaphe davidi), Malaclemys terrapin, rhino iguana, bungarus multicinctus, corn serpent (Pantherophis gullalus), three-ridged ridged turtle, Carettochelys insculpta, blue snake lizard (Tiliqua scincoides), Bengal cobra (Najakaouthia), Mexican blunt-mouthed salamander (Ambystoma mexicanum), leopard-printed palace (Eublepharismacularius) (Sternotherus odoratus); There are 10 species involved in Yancheng, of which rhabdophistigrinus is only seen in the Yancheng case; There are 40 species involved in Xuzhou, of which 8 are only found in the Xuzhou case, such as Emydoidea blandingii, Acrantophis dumerili, Clenosaura similis, yellow-legged tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus), Carolina box turtle (Terrapenecarolina), ornamented box turtle (). Terrapene ornata), four-striped Malay tortoise (Malayemys subtrijuga), spider-striped tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides); There are 24 species involved in Wuxi, of which the Bengal monitor lizard (Varanus bengalensis) is only found in the Wuxi case; There are 37 species involved in Suzhou, of which 4 are only found in Suzhou cases, such as Ptyas mucosa, Rhacodactylus ciliatus, rhinoclemmys pulcherrima, and Varanus nitoticus; There are 36 species involved in Changzhou, of which 9 are only found in Changzhou cases, such as the white-throated monitor lizard (Varanus albigularis), the flat-nosed horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), the emerald tree mussel (Corallus caninus), the graptemys ouachitensis, the Pan's closed-shelled turtle (Cuora pani), the plains monitor lizard (plains) Varanusexanthemalicus), Sacaliabealei, Mauremys sinensis, Zhoushan Cobra (Naja atra); A total of 16 species were involved in Yangzhou; There are 9 species involved in the case in Lianyungang City, of which the temple turtle (Hieremys annandalei) was only found in the Lianyungang case; There are 11 species involved in the case in Zhenjiang City, of which the red chain Snake (Trimerodytes annularis) was only seen in the Zhenjiang case; There are 10 species involved in Huai'an City, of which Malagasy tortoises are only seen in the Huai'an case; A total of 8 species involved in the case in Suqian City; There are 17 species involved in Nantong, of which 3 are only seen in the Nantong case, such as round-nosed monitor lizard, Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), and Physignathuscocincinus;) There are 6 species involved in the case in Taizhou.
▼Table 3 Geographical distribution of amphibian and reptile cases in Jiangsu Province in 2017 and 2019
3.5 Temporal patterns and species composition of amphibian and reptile cases
According to the distribution of cases, amphibian and reptile cases in Jiangsu Province entered a high incidence period in May and continued to decline in the number of cases in September. Among them, the time of tailless animal cases is concentrated between 5 and 9, and the number of cases in August is the largest; Secondly, the time of cases of turtles and turtles is concentrated between July and December, and the largest number of cases is in September; The occurrence of snake suborders is mainly concentrated in June; The occurrence of cases of tails, lizards, and crocodiles is relatively scattered (Figure 3).
Figure 3 Trends of amphibian and reptile involvement in Jiangsu Province in 2017 and 2019
4 Conclusions
(1) The number of amphibian and reptile cases has increased in recent years; The fauna involved was diverse. (2) According to the whereabouts of the illegal trade in wild animals, we should strengthen supervision and management of the pet market and the catering market. (3) According to the high incidence period of animal types and different types of animal cases in 13 prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province, it is recommended to focus on the protection of species that are often involved in cases during sensitive periods in the region. In addition, the import and export management of wild animals should be strengthened to pre-assess the potential dangers of foreign species, and the management system of alien species should be improved.
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