Science - USA (2021-07-09)

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may incentivize institutional reform. Local
and national laws should also be amended
to ensure that they help rather than hinder
expeditious and fair litigation and conse-
quences. For example, effective laws would
extend the reporting window and address
detrimental incremental trends rather than
focusing on isolated incidences.
Opaque processes, delays, and inadequate
institutional responses often adversely
affect the target rather than the perpetrator
( 2 , 11 ). If targets suffer retaliation for step-
ping forward, cultures of fear arise ( 8 ), with
targets often leaving their institutions ( 5 ) or
academia ( 11 ). Individuals compose institu-
tions, but institutions set the standards for
individuals ( 11 ). Institutional leadership
should take ownership and responsibility,
holding every individual within the institu-
tion accountable for their actions.
Tamar L. Goulet
Department of Biology, University
of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA.
Email: [email protected]

REFERENCES AND NOTES


  1. S. Moss, M. Mahmoudi, “STEM the bullying: An empirical
    investigation of abusive supervision in academic sci-
    ence” (2021); https://ssrn.com/abstract=3850784.

  2. C. Penrod, M. Fusilier, J. Workplace Rights 15 , 151 (2010).

  3. M. Fusilier, C. Penrod, Employee Responsibilities Rights J.
    27 , 47 (2015).

  4. C. P. Smith, J. J. Freyd, Am. Psychol. 69 , 575 (2014).

  5. N. Gluckman, “‘Harvard failed her’: University apolo-
    gizes to scholar who endured harassment,” Chronicle of
    Higher Education (2021).

  6. R. Wilson, “Geoff Marcy’s downfall,” Chronicle of Higher
    Education (2016).

  7. J. Kaiser, “Astronomer Geoff Marcy booted from
    National Academy of Sciences in wake of sexual harass-
    ment,” Science (2021); https://scim.ag/NASMarcy.

  8. M. Wadman, Science 360 , 480 (2018).

  9. National Science Foundation, Welcome to the Office of
    Diversity and Inclusion (www.nsf.gov/od/odi/index.jsp).

  10. National Institutes of Health, Expectations, Policies, and
    Requirements (2019); https://grants.nih.gov/grants/
    policy/harassment/policy-requirement.htm.

  11. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
    Medicine, “Sexual harassment of women: Climate, culture,
    and consequences in academic sciences, engineering,
    and medicine” (National Academies Press, 2018).


10.1126/science.abj8196

Save China’s blue-


crowned laughingthrush


The blue-crowned laughingthrush
(Garrulax courtoisi), a songbird species
endemic to Jiangxi Province in central
China ( 1 ), is designated as Critically
Endangered on both the International
Union for Conservation of Nature Red
List ( 1 ) and the China Species Red List
( 2 , 3 ). The laughingthrush, which breeds
in low-altitude, broad-leaved forests ( 4 ),
was thought to be extinct until it was
rediscovered in Wuyuan in 2000 ( 5 ). In
the 20 years since, the population has not

substantially grown ( 1 ). There are now
only about 240 individuals in the wild ( 1 ).
Without effective protection, the species
may not survive.
Human activities have exacerbated the
decline of the blue-crowned laughingth-
rush population. Trapping for the bird
trade led to the species’ extinction in
Yunnan, with 400 birds reported to have
been trapped from 1987 to 1992 ( 5 ). In
Wuyuan, urban development has caused
habitat destruction, which forces the
birds to relocate to breed ( 1 , 6 ). Because
Wuyuan is known as “China’s most beauti-
ful landscape” ( 7 ), with rich bird diversity
( 8 ), human tourism activities have
also disrupted the bird’s reproductive
processes ( 6 , 9 ).
Protecting the bird and its breeding
habitats requires urgent and coordinated
action from the government and the
public. The species was recently updated
to class I, the most critical, in the national
key protected species list ( 10 ), a step
in the right direction that should raise
public awareness about the need for its
conservation. Because the laughingthrush
depends on patches of remnant forest
and old-growth trees near villages for
both breeding and nesting ( 6 , 9 ), the most
effective measure might be managing
and restoring this habitat and reducing
nearby human activities. Given that most
breeding sites of the blue-crowned laugh-
ingthrush do not fall within the current
system of national natural reserves ( 6 ),
China should also implement policies to
protect the gaps before it is too late.
Ning Li^1 , Xinglong Huang^1 , Q i Ya n^1 , Weiwei Zhang^2 *,
Zheng Wang^3

(^1) Institute of Applied Ecology, College of Food
Science, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University,
Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.^2 Center for Wildlife
Resources Conservation Research, Jiangxi
Agricultural University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
(^3) Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry
in Southern China, College of Biology and the
Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing,
Jiangsu, China.
*Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES



  1. BirdLife International, Garrulax courtoisi (The IUCN Red
    List of Threatened Species, 2018).

  2. S. Wang et al., China Species Red List, Vol. 2, Vertebrates
    (Science Press, Beijing, 2009) [in Chinese].

  3. Y. Y. Zhang et al., Biodivers. Sci. 24 , 568 (2016).

  4. H. Q. Huang et al., Acta Ecol Sin. 38 , 493 (2018).

  5. Y. H. Hong, et al., Oriental Bird Club Bull. 38 , 35 (2003).

  6. W. W. Zhang et al., Avian Conserv. Ecol. 12 , 15 (2017).

  7. M. Y. Xu, J. Ser. Sci. Manag. 13 , 649 (2020).

  8. F. Q. He et al., Chin. J Zool. 49 , 170 (2014) [in Chinese].

  9. T. Liu et al., Peer J. 8 , e8785 (2020).

  10. National Forestry and Grassland Administration of
    China, “Official release of the updated list of Wild ani-
    mals under Special State Protection in China” (2021);
    http://www.forestry.gov.cn/main/586/20210208/09540379
    3167571.html [in Chinese].
    10.1126/science.abj4535


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