Do Ranger Stations Deter Poaching Activity in National Parks in Thailand?

As protected areas become more accessible via transportation networks, fragmentation, and encroachment from the borders, carnivores in these areas frequently decline. To counter these pressures, patrolling and active wildlife enforcement are widely accepted as fundamental conservation strategies. Using the case example of Khao Yai National Park (KYNP) and data from a camera trap survey, we modeled and evaluated the effectiveness of ranger stations in reducing human access and illegal activities, and in increasing prey and predator presence. This type of data and analysis is needed to monitor and evaluate enforcement effectiveness and develop adaptive management strategies. At KYNP, we used camera‐trapping data as a proxy to evaluate whether or not a positive impact of ranger stations on wildlife distribution could outweigh edge effects from human disturbance. We assessed factors affecting the distribution of poachers and wildlife using Maxent. Our analysis was based on 217 camera trap locations (6260 trap nights) and suggests that ungulates and poachers persist nearby ranger stations. Rangers should increase patrolling efforts of border areas; however, increasing wildlife patrolling in inaccessible areas with mobile range units may be more effective than establishing more ranger stations along park boundaries.     

Intergroup interactions in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), Ghomaran Rif mountains,Morocco

Data are presented on intergroup interactions between six groups of Macaca sylvanus in the Ghomaran region of the Moroccan Rif mountains. Intergroup encounters (0.026/observation hour) were defined as two groups being near each other (< 150 m). Encounters were further classified into: 1) neutral (indeterminate) encounters, in which very little intergroup interaction took place, with the exception of male monitoring (N = 7); 2) approach-retreat encounters with intergroup displacement, in which, without any overt agonism, members of one group slowly approached another and caused it to retreat (N = 3); and 3) agonistic encounters with intergroup displacement (N = 3). These results are compared to the only other study of intergroup interactions in wild Barbary macaques, and it is concluded that 1) observations of intergroup unification and/or coordination of movement in Barbary macaques (“herding”) probably resulted from observer error, or if these phenomena do occur, they are rare throughout the range of this species; 2) approximately half of all intergroup encounters in both studies resulted in intergroup displacement and/or intergroup agonism, evidence of intergroup competition; and 3) current data on intergroup interactions in Barbary macaques conform to the predictions of Wrangham's model of mutually competitive female-bonded, multimale groups.     

Determining landscape use of Holocene mammals using strontium isotopes

The use of the landscape by animals is predicted to be a function of their body size. However, empirical data relating these two variables from an array of body sizes within a single mammalian community are scarce. We tested this prediction by assessing landscape use of mammals by analyzing strontium (Sr) isotope signatures found in mammalian hard tissues representing a 3,000-year record. We examined: (1) the Sr-determined landscape area of small (∼100 g), medium (∼1,500 g) and large (∼100,000 g) mammals, and; (2) whether the area used by these mammals varied during periods of environmental change. Strontium isotope values were obtained from 46 specimens from the Holocene paleontological deposits of Lamar Cave and Waterfall Locality in Wyoming, USA, as well as from 13 modern ungulate specimens from the same area. Our data indicate that medium- and large-sized species use larger percentages of the landscape than do species of small body size. The isotope values for specimens from each of the paleontological sites are similar across all stratigraphic levels, suggesting no change in home range over the last 3,000 years, even though climate is known to have fluctuated at these sites over this time period. Further, our study verifies that the fossil localities represent the local community. Where bedrock geology is appropriate, the use of strontium isotope analyses provides a valuable tool for discerning landscape use by vertebrate communities, an important though generally difficult aspect of an ancient species niche to identify. Electronic Supplementary Material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

钱江源国家公园古田山常绿阔叶林木本植物的萌生更新特征

萌生更新是木本植物在原位进行更新的有效手段,使群落具有较强的恢复力。但以往研究侧重于实生更新,森林中木本植物的萌生更新特征及其在森林群落中的地位仍未得到足够理解。基于钱江源国家公园古田山国家级自然保护区内5 hm2亚热带常绿阔叶林样地的群落数据,分析木本植物萌生更新的数量特征,同时对不同分类单元、不同功能类群的萌生能力等进行比较。结果表明:(1)样地内64%的物种、20%的实生个体已经发生萌生更新现象,且萌生茎的数量占样地总个体数量的24%;(2)物种水平与科水平上,萌生能力均表现为显著差异(F=13.11,P0.001;F=27.45,P0.001)。腺蜡瓣花、柳叶蜡梅、宜昌荚蒾、窄基红褐柃、美丽马醉木等物种的萌生能力较强,蜡梅科、忍冬科、木兰科、壳斗科等类群的萌生能力较强;(3)不同垂直结构层次(林冠层、亚乔木层、灌木层)的萌生能力差异显著(F=117.5,P0.001),灌木层物种的萌生能力是林冠层与亚乔木层的1倍左右。不同生活型(常绿组分与落叶组分)的萌生能力差异显著,常绿类群的萌生能力显著高于落叶类群(P0.001)。萌生更新在亚热带常绿阔叶林中具有重要地位,可能是物种多样性维持、群落更新与演替的机制之一。灌木物种与常绿物种有着较强的萌生能力,暗示着萌生可能是植物适应荫蔽环境的生态策略之一。