Conservation

A revised and updated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Krau Wildlife Reserve (KWR), Pahang is presented, which includes 61 species of amphibians and 65 species of reptiles. Five species of amphibians are listed under revised names i.e. Hylarana labialis, H. picturata, Ansonia latiffi, Microhyla mantheyi and Rhacophorus norhayatae; and two species are listed as new locality records for KWR: Hylarana cf. siberu and Theloderma licin. The amphibians and reptiles recorded in KWR are approximately 56% and 22% of the total number of species recorded from Peninsular Malaysia, respectively.

Vertebrate pest species are an economically and ecologically important subset of the broader environmental problem of invasive alien species. Risk assessment has been shown to be a useful paradigm for identifying and comparing potential solutions to environmental problems in a variety of contexts, including problems associated with invasive species. Here I briefly review the important components of the risk assessment paradigm, and discuss potential applications of risk assessment approaches to several aspects of the control of invasive vertebrate pest species, including import and export controls to prevent establishment, evaluation of control measures for established species, and assessment of the severity of potential non-target impacts of control measures. Risk assessment can contribute to the solution of vertebrate pest problems by connecting science to policy and management decisions, by identifying and alleviating values-based controversies, and by integrating public particip...