Lee E. Harding

Unafilliated. Retired.

Publications on genetics of reindeer and caribou, together with data on morphology, ecology, and palaeontology, were synthesized to revise the genus Rangifer. Six species of Rangifer Smith, 1827, are recognized. This paper is a summary of the published revision.

As a result of copy-editing cut-and-past errors, incorrect authorities were given in two cases.

Advancements in molecular and phylogenetic analysis have revealed the need for greater taxonomic resolution since Rangifer (Reindeer and caribou: Cervidae) was last revised in 1961. Recent literature shows that many of the subspecies and several species synonymised out of existence are, in fact, valid, some names have been misapplied, and new subsp...

In reviewing the genetic, morphological, behavioural, and ecological distinctiveness of caribou throughout Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) (2011) divided “Southern Mountain caribou” (c.f. COSEWIC 2002) into three designatable units (DU) for conservation purposes: Northern Mountain (DU7), Central Mounta...

Mountain caribou, a behaviourally and genetically distinct set of ecotypes of the Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) restricted to the mountains of western Canada, have undergone severe population declines in recent decades. Although a broad consensus exists that the ultimate driver of these declines has been the reduction of habitat upon...

Rhinopithecus bieti Milne-Edwards, 1897 is 1 of the largest and most northerly colobine monkeys. It lives at the highest recorded elevations for a nonhuman primate, 2,625-4,700 m. It has a restricted range between the Yangtze and Mekong Rivers in Yunnan and Xizang (Tibet) Provinces, mainland of China, in 15-20 groups comprising 6 isolated populatio...

Nasalis larvatus (von Wurmb, 1781), proboscis monkey, is the only member of its genus and is the largest colobine monkey. It has a uniquely large nose in males. It occurs in lowland riverine forests, peat swamps, and mangrove swamps of Borneo. It is a strong swimmer and can swim underwater. A folivore, it lives in single male-multifemale troops or...

In early 2014 Environment Canada released a recovery strategy for the “Southern Mountain” ecotype of woodland caribou. This strategy falls short of a recovery plan, notes the absence of detailed maps of critical habitat (which are required by the Species at Risk Act, SARA), and states that such maps “will be prepared for each local population unit...

After decades of endangered species protection and conservation success, poachers are staging a come–back. Most people in Europe and North America just don’t believe that rhinoceros horn, monkey meat, tiger penis or bear bile have any curative or health properties, but millions of people in East Asia and Southeast Asia believe otherwise. This cultu...

Baron Friedrich van Wurmb (1781) is credited with the first description of the proboscis monkey, endemic to Borneo, which he named Cercopithecus [now Nasalis] larvatus. This was in a paper read to The Society of Batavia, modern day Jakarta, Indonesia, and later published in the Society’s Memoirs. But he was not the first.

Popular and scientific literature is still permeated with male aggression as a product of long evolution. The fact that violent aggression appears in the archeological records less than half as long ago as artistic expression should give pause to any student of human behavior. Humans are nothing like apes--chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, or orangut...

Nomascus leucogenys (Ogilby, 1840) is a crested gibbon of northern Vietnam, northern Laos, and southern China. Males are black with white cheeks and females are a rich buff color with a dark brown sagittal crest. It is among the largest of hylobatids (except siamang) and has unusually long arms for a hylobatid. Its diet includes fruits, leaves, sma...

Winter den sites of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos L.) were examined during summer, 1973, and spring, 1974, and 1975. The purpose was to locate denning areas and estimate the number of bears on Richards Island, N.W.T., and to assess the importance of soil, landform, and other characteristics that determine the suitability of sites for denning. A total...

Trachypithecus delacouri (Osgood, 1932), commonly called Delacour's langur or lutung, is a black and white lutung (leaf monkey) endemic to northern Vietnam. It is a diurnal and primarily arboreal species, but spends more time on the ground than other species of Trachypithecus. T. delacouri lives among limestone cliffs and consumes the leaves of a b...

Weather was the major factor in higher Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) productivity (more and larger eggs, lower egg failure rates, higher nestling survival) in 2004 compared to 2005. Nest success varied from 57% to 74%. Causes of mortality included drowning, predation, parental abandonment following predation of nest mates, hypothermia...

In 2011 June, my team found 16 Sora nests in two marshes in the Central Canadian Rockies Ecoregion as incidental observations on an unrelated study. Nine of the nests held from seven to 13 eggs. In one of the marshes, the density was 2.9 active nests per hectare.

In the last half century, trends in mean temperature (increasing), snowfall (increasing), and snow cover (decreasing) that are consistent with global warming predictions have been observed in the Arctic (Brown and Alt 2001; Gitay et al. 2002; Whitfield et al. 2002). Additionally, climate variability in the Arctic has increased: there has been a sig...

Trachypithecus cristatus (Raffles, 1821), silvered lutung, is a colobine monkey of the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago. It has a pointed crest and outward-projecting cheek hairs, and gray skin and pelage with some grayish white hairs that are lighter distally, giving a silvered appearance. Diurnal and arboreal, it runs and jumps quadrupedally, with...

The present survey shows the biodiversity decline in Bellanwila -Attidiya Sanctuary (BAS). A total of 152 species of vertebrates and 75 species of butterflies are recorded from BAS. Sixteen of these species are endemic, and five of them are nationally threatened. Vertebrates represent 11 amphibians, 27 reptiles, 22 fresh water fishes, 78 birds and...

The Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) is one of 15 species of cranes in the world and one of two in Canada. The population in the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia is believed to be one of two less common subspecies, G. c. tabida or G. c. rowani. The latter is taxonomically uncertain: it may be a mixture or an intergrade of subspecies. Sandhil...

Trachypithecus cristatus (Silvered Leaf Monkey or Silvered Lutung) occur on the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and nearby islands and live mainly in uni-male, female bonded groups. This study presents preliminary data on social behaviours for Silvered Leaf Monkey in captivity. Behavioural observations were conducted on one group (one adult male,...

Effects of selenium on reproductive success were assessed in red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus). Mean egg selenium (MES) ranged from 2.96 to 21.7 mg/kg dry weight with individual eggs up to 40 mg/kg. Uptake was non-linear: increments in MES declined as aqueous selenium increased; the asymptote was approximately 23 mg/kg. Eggs were heavier...

Abstract Following the Arabian oryx's (Oryx leucoryx) extinction in the wild in 1972, the Hashemite Kingdomof Jordan began a reintroduction programme,in 1978 with 11 founding animals. When the herd size reached 31 in 1983, most were released from

Selenium has been found at elevated concentrations in water, sediments, and aquatic biota in the Elk River (British Columbia, Canada) and some of its tributaries downstream of several coal mines. Selenium water concentrations in those areas exceed Canadian and British Columbia guidelines and are above levels at which adverse effects to fish and wat...

We assessed chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination of mink and river otters on the Columbia and Fraser River systems of northwestern North America, in relation to morphological measures of condition. We obtained carcasses of mink and river otters from commercial trappers during the winters 1994-1995 and 1995-1996. Necropsies included evaluation of t...

Much conservation energy is currently spent on identifying species at risk, one by one, and launching individual recovery programs. Lesser-known species tend to be ignored. With rapid increases in the numbers of endangered species and ignorance about the status of others, we must ask whether or not there is a better approach. Harding's views provid...

In the past, measures of marine environmental quality have focused on effects of specific stressors on ecosystem components—biochemical, genetic, physiological, pathological, behavioural and community. To measure ecosystem changes resulting from multiple stresses, such as a combination of pollutants (some local and some not) and physical habitat ch...

The environmental quality of Canada's estuarine, coastal and offshore areas is important, both to Canada and to the international community. The Marine Evironmental Quality Working Group of Environment Canada is preparing a working report on the quality of Canada's marine waters on the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic coasts. This paper presents highli...

Observations on numbers, distribution, locations of dens, and responses of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos L.) to industrial disturbances were noted on Richards Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, during 1972-75. During this period, 13-23 bears occupied the 2,460-km2 study area. Bear responses to hydrocarbon exploration and related activities were o...

Climate change and biodiversity are interconnected, where climate change is reshaping global biodiversity. Unsustainable human activities that increase accumulation of greenhouse gases and hinder the natural balance of atmospheric greenhouse gases aggravate the effects of climate change on biodiversity. Rising seas-levels could inundate coastal hab...