Use of threatened species in research – be it for taxonomy, biology or population studies, has always invoked much debate. As a result, the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed a set of guidelines entitled ‘IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction’ with special reference to scientific collecting of threatened species. A recent IUCN assessment of the conservation status of freshwater taxa of the Western Ghats, involving more than 40 freshwater biodiversity experts, including 15 ichthyologists, listed a number of threats affecting the freshwater taxa of
the region and their habitats.
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