Reconciling scientific and local ecological knowledge to identify priority mammals for conservation in a dry forest area in northeast Brazil

Species prioritization for conservation is primarily based on extinction risk assessments but less on sociocultural factors that influence conservation effectiveness. Here, we prioritized mammals for conservation according to their need for conservation attention, the feasibility of their conservation, and their potential to be used as flagship species in a rural community in northeast Brazil. We assessed species occurrence and ethnobiology through interviews, camera trapping, and active searches, and developed a prioritization scheme that accounts for species’ threat level (conservation status and local hunting pressure), cultural importance, and popularity. We found Tolypeutes tricinctus as the overall top-priority species because of its Endangered status and high popularity, which makes its conservation needed and feasible, and this species a potential conservation flagship. Panthera onca was the highest priority regarding the need for conservation attention due to its Critically Endangered status but the least feasible to conserve as it was the most unpopular species. Mazama gouazoubira was the most hunted and popular species. Despite not being threatened, it may also be prioritized for conservation, given its high hunting pressure and popularity, thereby constituting a possible local flagship species. Our results show that priority species for conservation can be reliably identified based on measures of need for conservation attention and expected conservation feasibility in local scales using rapid assessments. Accounting for ethnobiology in species prioritization for conservation allows a better understanding of the needs, opportunities, and obstacles for their conservation, consequently leading to better resource-allocation decisions in different socio-economic scenarios.     

Explanatory factors for household involvement in illegal bushmeat hunting around Serengeti,Tanzania

Bushmeat hunting, i.e., the hunting of wildlife for consumption, is a widespread and well-researched phenomenon. Here, we add to the literature on the factors that explain household engagement in hunting by asking how situational factors (such as distance from potential hunting grounds) and household-related variables both at the individual and at the social level (such as perceptions of law enforcement, relative wealth and ethnic background) are related to hunting activities.However, bushmeat hunting is inherently challenging to investigate as it is usually illegal. In this study, conducted in western Serengeti, Tanzania (n = 196 households in 12 villages), we used a variable that can be (and sometimes indeed is) incorporated in dietary recall surveys. This variable elicited the provenance of the bushmeat consumed, thereby avoiding direct statements about hunting activities. Counts of bushmeat sourced from household members were interpreted as a proxy for household engagement in hunting.In a binomial generalised linear model, perceived own relative wealth, perceived effectiveness of law enforcement, distance from the nearest protected area and ethnicity all significantly explained variation in counts of home-sourced bushmeat over 10 months. Our approach is useful for investigating changes in perceptions of household wealth and law enforcement and their effects on hunting over time, and could contribute substantially to a better understanding of the dynamics of hunting in response to conservation and development interventions.