Trophy hunting and perceived risk in closed ecosystems: Flight behaviour of three gregarious African ungulates in a semi‐arid tropical savanna

Although being an important conservation tool in Africa, trophy hunting is known to influence risk perception in wildlife species, thus affecting the behaviour and fitness of most targeted species. We studied the effects of trophy hunting on the flight behaviour of impala (Aepyceros melampus), greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) and sable (Hippotragus niger) in two closed ecosystems, Cawston Ranch (hunting area) and Stanley and Livingstone Private Game Reserve (tourist area), western Zimbabwe. Using standardized field procedures, we assessed the flight behavioural responses of the three species in two seasons: non‐hunting (December–March) and hunting (April–November) between March 2013 and November 2014. We tested the effect of habitat, group size, sex, season, start distance and alert distance on flight initiation distance using linear mixed models. Habitat, group size sex and alert distance did not have any effect on flight initiation distance for the three species. The three species were more alert and displayed longer flight initiation distances in the hunting area compared with the tourist area. Flight initiation distances for the three species were higher during the hunting season for the hunting area and low during the non‐hunting season. Flight distances of the three species did not differ between the hunting area and the tourist area. We concluded that trophy hunting increased perceived risk of wild ungulates in closed hunting areas, whereas ungulates in non‐hunting areas are less responsive and somehow habituated to human presence. Management plans should include minimum approach distances by tourists as well as establishing seasonal restrictions on special zones to promote species viability. Research aimed at integrating behavioural responses with physiological aspects of target species should be promoted to ensure that managers are able to deal with the behavioural trade‐offs of trophy hunting at local and regional scale.     

Socio‐demographic factors influence the attitudes of local residents towards trophy hunting activities in the Kilombero Valley,Tanzania

Within the Kilombero Game Controlled Area (KGCA) of Tanzania, protection is offered to large mammal populations by trophy hunting concessions that maintain natural habitat through the prevention of extensive human encroachment. The opinions of local communities to wildlife management operations such as trophy hunting play an important role in their long‐term viability. This study addresses the influence of socio‐demographic factors on the opinions of local communities to trophy hunting in areas that are not part of community‐based management projects, which is where most research of this type has previously been conducted. Semi‐structured questionnaires were conducted in 24 villages within the Kilombero Valley (fifteen interviews per village) in August–December 2007. The extent to which socio‐demographic factors including location (e.g. village of residence) and individual respondent characteristics (e.g. gender and age) influenced the respondents’ opinions was analysed. Of these socio‐demographic factors, all, except age and district of residence, were found to influence the opinions of local residents. Socio‐demographic factors play an important role in determining local communities’ attitudes towards trophy hunting, and this must be taken into account during the design and assessment of wildlife management conservation strategies, both locally in the KGCA and in similar national and international initiatives.     

Fish remains from the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation, Omo River basin, Ethiopia

Thousands of vertebrate fossils have been recovered from the lower Omo River Valley, in southern Ethiopia, however, fishes have been poorly reported. Here we describe fossil fish remains deriving from the Shungura Formation, part of the Omo Group of deposits ranging in date from 1.8 to 3.4 my. Two new species are reported, Sindacharax omoensis (Characiformes) and Lates arambourgi (Perciformes), which suggest greater diversity of these genera than previously documented.     

Hunting, Social Structure and Human–Nature Relationships in Lower Omo, Ethiopia: People and Wildlife at a Crossroads

Hunting is often either portrayed as the ultimate means to enact a close connection between the human being and nature, or investigated in terms of its contribution to livelihoods. Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, we explored the meaning of hunting in the lower Omo valley, Ethiopia, and found that large game hunting was best understood as an activity that served to establish and maintain human–human relationships. Hunting was important as it created the basis for long-term bond-relations between a hunter and his friend (‘misso’) and a hunter and his honorary elder sister (‘misha’) that could be drawn on in times of hardship. By contrast, interactions between hunter and wildlife were given hardly any attention by our participants. We discuss implications in relation to the stark decline in wildlife and the degradation of grazing land over the last decades, and the consequences of our findings for conservation and development activities.     

四川藏族地区藏传佛教与野生动物保护的关系初探

笔者于1999年7～8月在四川省甘孜藏族自治州的石渠、白玉2个藏族聚居县进行藏传佛教与野生动物保护关系的调查。结果发现虽然当地藏民都信教,寺庙也都反对捕杀野生动物,但还有50％的被调查乡有打猎现象,对于狼（Canis lupus）和鼠兔（Ochotona spp.）,分别有96％和98％的被访者认为应该消灭;对猛禽和有蹄类有好感的被访者分别有57％和45％。所有藏民都知道野生动物受国家法律和佛教的保护,当地寺庙给予藏民的约束力对野生动物保护有很大影响。政府应与寺庙合作进行野生动物保护及宣传工作。     

Intrasite spatial variation of the Omo Kibish Middle Stone Age assemblages: artifact refitting and distribution patterns

The middle-late Pleistocene Kibish Formation of the Lower Omo Valley (Ethiopia) contains some of the oldest dated Homo sapiens fossils. Archaeological excavations at the Omo Kibish between 2002 and 2003 recovered numerous stone tools from extensive horizontal exposures of two sites, KHS (dated to 195 ± 5 kyr) and BNS (dated to at least 104 ± 7 kyr). Analysis of artifact distributions, lithic-debris densities, and refitting artifact sets sheds light on site-formation processes. Both localities reveal weak patterns of differentiation, and BNS seems to have a preferred refit orientation.     

The Middle Stone Age archaeology of the Lower Omo Valley Kibish Formation: excavations, lithic assemblages, and inferred patterns of early Homo sapiens behavior

This paper describes the excavation, stratigraphy, and lithic assemblages of Middle Stone Age sites from the Omo Kibish Formation (Lower Omo Valley, southwestern Ethiopia). Three sites were excavated, two in Kibish Member I (KHS and AHS) and one at the base of Member III (BNS). The assemblages are dominated by relatively high-quality raw materials procured as pebbles from local gravels. The principal modes of core preparation are radial/centripetal Levallois and discoidal. Retouched tools are rare. Foliate bifaces are present, as are larger tools, such as handaxes, picks, and lanceolates, but these are more common among surface finds than among excavated assemblages. Middle Stone Age assemblages shed light on the adaptations of the earliest-known Homo sapiens populations in Africa.     

“Show me which parasites you carry and I will tell you what you eat”, or how to infer the trophic behavior of hematophagous arthropods feeding on wildlife

Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses originating from wildlife among which vector‐borne diseases constitute a major risk for global human health. Understanding the transmission routes of mosquito‐borne pathogens in wildlife crucially depends on recording mosquito blood‐feeding patterns. During an extensive longitudinal survey to study sylvatic anophelines in two wildlife reserves in Gabon, we collected 2,415 mosquitoes of which only 0.3% were blood‐fed. The molecular analysis of the blood meals contained in guts indicated that all the engorged mosquitoes fed on wild ungulates. This direct approach gave only limited insights into the trophic behavior of the captured mosquitoes. Therefore, we developed a complementary indirect approach that exploits the occurrence of natural infections by host‐specific haemosporidian parasites to infer Anopheles trophic behavior. This method showed that 74 infected individuals carried parasites of great apes (58%), ungulates (30%), rodents (11%) and bats (1%). Accordingly, on the basis of haemosporidian host specificity, we could infer different feeding patterns. Some mosquito species had a restricted host range (An. nili only fed on rodents, whereas An. carnevalei, An. coustani, An. obscurus, and An. paludis only fed on wild ungulates). Other species had a wider host range (An. gabonensis could feed on rodents and wild ungulates, whereas An. moucheti and An. vinckei bit rodents, wild ungulates and great apes). An. marshallii was the species with the largest host range (rodents, wild ungulates, great apes, and bats). The indirect method substantially increased the information that could be extracted from the sample by providing details about host‐feeding patterns of all the mosquito species collected (both fed and unfed). Molecular sequences of hematophagous arthropods and their parasites will be increasingly available in the future; exploitation of such data with the approach we propose here should provide key insights into the feeding patterns of vectors and the ecology of vector‐borne diseases.     

Linking two elephant refuges with a corridor in the communal lands of Zimbabwe

Wildlife corridors, protected bands of suitable habitat linking core populations of plants and animals, are seen as the best solution to the problem of habitat fragmentation. A corridor between two wildlife refuges was identified in the communal lands of Zimbabwe. Results of tracking the current preferred migration of bull elephants between the two refuges using radio collars were combined with a GIS analysis to examine the zone where conservation of habitat would have least impact on current activities within the communal lands. A suitable corridor was identified using least‐cost analysis allowing for the improved conservation of the elephants and therefore potentially increasing the benefits to local residents by both reducing human/elephant conflict and increasing income from sport hunting and tourism in the region. Recent political violence in the corridor region, the illegal killing of elephants and the loss of suitable habitat makes the implementation of this corridor unlikely.     

Insights into the Management of Large Carnivores for Profitable Wildlife-Based Land Uses in African Savannas

Large African predators, especially lions (Panthera leo) and leopards (Panthera pardus), are financially valuable for ecotourism and trophy hunting operations on land also utilized for the production of other wildlife species for the same purpose. Predation of ungulates used for trophy hunting can create conflict with landholders and trade off thus exists between the value of lions and leopards and their impact on ungulate populations. Therefore productionist and conservation trade-offs are complexly graded and difficult to resolve. We investigated this with a risk-benefit analysis on a large private wildlife production area in Zimbabwe. Our model showed that lions result in substantial financial costs through predation on wild ungulates that may not be offset by profits from hunting them, whereas the returns from trophy hunting of leopards are projected to exceed the costs due to leopard predation. In the absence of additional income derived from photo-tourism the number of lions may need to be managed to minimize their impact. Lions drive important ecological processes, but there is a need to balance ecological and financial imperatives on wildlife ranches, community wildlife lands and other categories of multiple use land used for wildlife production. This will ensure the competitiveness of wildlife based land uses relative to alternatives. Our findings may thus be limited to conservancies, community land-use areas and commercial game ranches, which are expansive in Africa, and should not necessarily applied to areas where biodiversity conservation is the primary objective, even if hunting is allowed there.     

Comparing motion capture cameras versus human observer monitoring of mammal movement through fence gaps: a case study from Kenya

Monitoring the movement and distribution of wildlife is a critical tool of an adaptive management framework for wildlife conservation. We installed motion‐triggered cameras to capture the movement of mammals through two purpose‐built migration gaps in an otherwise fenced conservancy in northern Kenya. We compared the results to data gathered over the same time period (1 Jan 2011–31 Dec 2012) by the human observers monitoring mammal tracks left at the same fence gaps in a sandy loam detection strip. The camera traps detected more crossing events, more species and more individuals of each species per crossing event than did the human track observers. We tested for volume detection differences between methods for the five most common species crossing each gap and found that all detection rates were heavily weighted towards the camera‐trap method. We review some of the discrepancies between the methods and conclude that although the camera traps record more data, the management of that data can be time‐consuming and ill‐suited to some time‐sensitive decision‐making. We also discuss the importance of daily track monitoring for adaptive management conservation and community security.     

A Preliminary Investigation on the Status of the Wildlife Trade in Guangxi,China

1IntroductionWildlifetradeisamain~mpetustoutilizewildlife.Thechangeinspeciesandvolumein-volvedinthewildlifetrademayreflectconservationstatus,dynamicsandexploitedlevelofwildliferesources.Thestudyonwildlifetradeisthetheoriticalbasisonwhichproposalsastolimittradeonrareorendangeredspeciescanbemade,andwithwhichfuturemonitoringofthetradecanbecompared.Theresultalsocanbeusedtoevaluateconservationeffectsofprotectionmeasuresandlawsforbiodiversityconservation.Itisofgreatsignificanceinguid-ingsustainable…     

Steering the impacts of ungulates on temperate forests

Ungulate game damage to growing forest stock is recognised as being part of a larger landscape-forest-ungulate-human problem to be tackled on a landscape as well as a forest scale. Whether ungulate impacts are seen as “damage” or not depends on the targets of the different land users. Possibilities for a flexible, integrated pattern of ungulate, forest, hunting and landscape management are highlighted.

The impacts of forestry practices on food supply and food-independent settling stimuli for ungulates affect (1) the habitat quality, (2) the density, structure and dynamics of wildlife stocks, (3) the predisposition of forest to game damage, and (4) the scale of game damage that arises. Though silvicultural measures are seen to be of prime importance in controlling game damage, they alone cannot sustainably solve the problems of wildlife management; complementary inputs are required from all stakeholders – foresters, hunters, farmers, tourist authorities, conservationists, regional planning authorities and local communities – with plans coordinated over large enough regions to be relevant for the game species of interest.

The management tools for steering ungulate behaviour and forest-ungulate interactions derive from field research. However, communication of results to stakeholders appears to be a major weakness. Suggestions for improving collaboration between stakeholders and researchers are presented, along with future research needs.     

植被、海拔、人为干扰对大中型野生动物分布的影响——以九寨沟自然保护区为例

利用九寨沟自然保护区内8条动物监测样线在2003—2010年的生态监测数据,分析了植被、海拔、人为干扰对大中型野生动物分布的影响,结果显示:1)本监测共记录到保护区内大中型野生动物26种,其中兽类18种,鸟类8种,属于我国Ⅰ级、Ⅱ级保护动物的分别有5种和11种。2)针阔混交林和针叶林是大中型野生动物种类最丰富的两种植被类型(分别有26种和17种),阔叶林和灌丛次之(分别为10种和12种),草地最少(2种)。3)海拔2400 m以下的地方,大中型野生动物种类稀少,为10种,2400—2599 m海拔段物种数增加至20种,之后随海拔上升物种丰富度下降。4)人为干扰显著影响大中型野生动物的空间分布:历史上的人类活动将原生森林植被转化为次生的落叶阔叶林、灌丛和草地,使树正、亚纳和尖盘等地下坡位(相对海拔0—199 m)的大中型野生动物的物种丰富度降低(分别为4、2、2种)。包括旅游活动和交通在内的人为干扰,可能导致附近50m海拔范围内保护动物的缺失,并使下坡位的某些物种向高海拔处移动。生境破碎化则使野生动物的种类组成发生改变,使原有森林内部优势种,如羚牛(Budorcas taxicolor),逐渐被适应能力强的物种,如豹猫(Prionailurus bengalensis)、雉鸡(Phasianuscolchicus)和野猪(Sus scrofa)等所取代,并将长期影响野生动物种群的存活。当前九寨沟自然保护区大中型野生动物的分布是植被、海拔与人为干扰综合作用的结果。     

Eating and conserving bushmeat in Africa

In Africa, overhunting of tropical wildlife for food remains an intractable issue. Donors and governments remain committed to invest in efforts to both conserve and allow the sustainable use of wildlife. Four principal barriers need to be overcome: (i) communities are not motivated to conserve wildlife long‐term because they have no formal rights to benefit from wildlife, or to exclude others from taking it on their land; (ii) multispecies harvests, typical of bushmeat hunting scenarios, place large‐bodied species at risk of extinction; (iii) wildlife production cannot expand, in the same way that livestock farming can, to meet the expected growth in consumer demand; and (iv) wildlife habitat is lost through conversion to agriculture, housing, transportation networks and extractive industries. In this review, we examine the actors involved in the use of wildlife as food and discuss the possible solutions required to address urban and rural bushmeat consumption. Interventions must tackle use and conservation of wildlife through the application of context‐relevant interventions in a variety of geographies across Africa. That said, for any bushmeat solution to work, there needs to be concurrent and comparable investment in strengthening the effectiveness of protected area management and enforcement of wildlife conservation laws.     

The use of on‐animal acoustical recording devices for studying animal behavior

Audio recordings made from free‐ranging animals can be used to investigate aspects of physiology, behavior, and ecology through acoustic signal processing. On‐animal acoustical monitoring applications allow continuous remote data collection, and can serve to address questions across temporal and spatial scales. We report on the design of an inexpensive collar‐mounted recording device and present data on the activity budget of wild mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) derived from these devices applied for a 2‐week period. Over 3300 h of acoustical recordings were collected from 10 deer on their winter range in a natural gas extraction field in northwestern Colorado. Analysis of a subset of the data indicated deer spent approximately 33.5% of their time browsing, 20.8% of their time processing food through mastication, and nearly 38.3% of their time digesting through rumination, with marked differences in diel patterning of these activities. Systematic auditory vigilance was a salient activity when masticating, and these data offer options for quantifying wildlife responses to varying listening conditions and predation risk. These results (validated using direct observation) demonstrate that acoustical monitoring is a viable and accurate method for characterizing individual time budgets and behaviors of ungulates, and may provide new insight into the ways external forces affect wildlife behavior.     

Correlation of the KHS Tuff of the Kibish Formation to volcanic ash layers at other sites, and the age of early Homo sapiens (Omo I and Omo II)

Hominin specimens Omo I and Omo II from Member I of the Kibish Formation, Ethiopia are attributed to early Homo sapiens, and an age near 196 ka has been suggested for them. The KHS Tuff, within Member II of the Kibish Formation has not been directly dated at the site, but it is believed to have been deposited at or near the time of formation of sapropel S6 in the Mediterranean Sea. Electron microprobe analyses suggest that the KHS Tuff correlates with the WAVT (Waidedo Vitric Tuff) at Herto, Gona, and Konso (sample TA-55), and with Unit D at Kulkuletti in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Konso sample TA-55 is older than 154 ka, and Unit D at Kulkuletti is dated at 183 ka. These correlations and ages provide strong support for the age originally suggested for the hominin remains Omo I and Omo II, and for correlation of times of deposition in the Kibish region with formation of sapropels in the Mediterranean Sea. The Aliyo Tuff in Member III of the Kibish Formation is dated at 104 ka, and correlates with Gademotta Unit 15 in the Ethiopian Rift Valley.     

An Evaluation of Hunter Self-Monitoring in the Bolivian Chaco

Community wildlife management is being tested across the tropics as a means of promoting the conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources. Key to successful programs is the effective participation of local hunters and communities in monitoring, planning, decision-making and implementation. We evaluate one method to achieve this participation, namely hunter self-monitoring. Between 1997 and 2000, Izoceño hunters from 22 communities in the Bolivian Chaco have voluntarily participated in monitoring their hunting activities, measuring and recording data on captured animals and hunting methods in personal notebooks. Despite the lack of remuneration, participation exceeds 60% of active hunters. However, the written information and specimens provided are not complete, and are biased according to hunting methods and prey characteristics. Complementary research is essential to answer specific research questions. Nevertheless, hunter self-monitoring serves to raise awareness of wildlife management issues at the communal or indigenous territory level, as evidenced by preliminary actions taken by hunters and communities in the Izozog.     

Design and Implementation of Monitoring Studies to Evaluate the Success of Ecological Restoration on Wildlife

Restoration projects are often developed with little consideration for understanding their effects on wildlife. We contend, however, that monitoring treatment effects on wildlife should be an integral component of the design and execution of any management activity, including restoration. Thus, we provide a conceptual framework for the design and implementation of monitoring studies to understand the effects of restoration on wildlife. Our underlying premise is that effective monitoring hinges on an appropriate study design for unbiased and precise estimates of the response variables. We advocate using measures of population dynamics for response variables given that they provide the most direct measures of wildlife status and trends. The species to be monitored should be those constituting an assemblage of umbrella species that represent the range of spatial and functional requirements of wildlife in a restored ecological system. Selection of umbrella species should be based on strong empirical evidence that justifies their usage. We also advocate that monitoring be designed as true experiments or quasi‐experiments rather than as observational studies to allow for stronger inferences regarding the effects of restoration on wildlife. Our primary message is that if monitoring is to be done, it must be scientifically based.     

基于红外相机技术调查长青国家级自然保护区兽类和鸟类多样性

野生动物多样性的有效保护与管理,需要大范围、长时间的系统监测网络的支持。红外相机调查技术近年来已成为自然保护区鸟兽调查的最有效工具之一,为了解和掌握区域性乃至全国性的生物多样性现状,提供了最直接和最基础的数据。长青国家级自然保护区位于秦岭南坡,地处秦岭自然保护区群的核心地带。自2008年至2011年,使用被动式红外触发相机调查技术在长青保护区内调查了大中型兽类与鸟类的本底资源。共完成有效调查位点435个,相机工作日15767d。获得兽类有效拍摄3 282次,记录到分属5目12科的21种野生兽类和1种家畜,其中国家一级和二级重点保护野生动物各有5种,被IUCN物种红色名录评估为濒危（EN）、易危（VU）、近危（NT）的物种分别有2、3、4种。食肉目和偶蹄目是本次调查兽类记录中物种数量（分别有9种和7种）和有效拍摄数（分别占兽类有效拍摄数的13.5%和84.0%）最高的两个类群,食肉目中相对多度指数最高的物种是大熊猫（Ailuropoda melanoleuca, 12.30）,偶蹄目中最高的物种是羚牛（Budorcas taxicolor, 114.04）。保护区内大型兽类（食肉目和偶蹄目）物种多样性沿海拔梯度,大体呈现中部高、两侧低的单峰模式,海拔1600-2200 m的中等海拔段是大型兽类多样性最高的区域。鸟类有效拍摄191次,记录到分属4目8科的17种鸟类,其中国家二级重点保护野生动物物种8种。鸡形目雉科鸟类是有效拍摄数最高的类群,占全部鸟类拍摄数的79.8%。调查中记录到的林猬（Mesechinus hughi）和鹰雕（Spizaetus nipalensis）为长青自然保护区的新记录种。调查结果提供了较为全面的区内大中型兽类和鸟类群落的本底信息,为后续的保护管理规划和长期监测提供了数据支持和指导。