Bushmeat hunting changes regeneration of African rainforests

To assess ecological consequences of bushmeat hunting in African lowland rainforests, we compared paired sites, with high and low hunting pressure, in three areas of southeastern Nigeria. In hunted sites, populations of important seed dispersers—both small and large primates (including the Cross River gorilla, Gorilla gorilla diehli)—were drastically reduced. Large rodents were more abundant in hunted sites, even though they are hunted. Hunted and protected sites had similar mature tree communities dominated by primate-dispersed species. In protected sites, seedling communities were similar in composition to the mature trees, but in hunted sites species with other dispersal modes dominated among seedlings. Seedlings emerging 1 year after clearing of all vegetation in experimental plots showed a similar pattern to the standing seedlings. This study thus verifies the transforming effects of bushmeat hunting on plant communities of tropical forests and is one of the first studies to do so for the African continent.     

Bushmeat hunting in the Congo Basin: an assessment of impacts and options for mitigation

Hunting of wild animals is an important component of household economies in the Congo Basin. Results from the growing corpus of quantitative studies show that: a) bushmeat remains the primary source of animal protein for the majority of Congo Basin families; b) bushmeat hunting can constitute a significant source of revenue for forest families; c) bushmeat consumption by low density populations living in the forest may be sustainable at present; d) demand for bushmeat by growing numbers of urban consumers has created a substantial market for bushmeat that is resulting in a halo of defaunation around population centres, and may be driving unsustainable levels of hunting, even in relatively isolated regions; and e) large bodied animals with low reproductive rates are most susceptible to over-exploitation compared with more r-selected species that apparently can tolerate relatively intensive hunting (Mangel et al. 1996). As urban populations continue to grow and economies revitalise, unless action is taken to alter the demand for, and the supply of bushmeat, the forests of the Congo Basin will be progressively stripped of certain wildlife species, risking their extirpation or extinction, and the loss of values they confer to local economies. Consequently, it is essential that a) logging companies are encouraged or coerced not to facilitate bushmeat hunting and transportation in their concessions, b) we develop a better understanding of the elasticity of bushmeat demand, c) that pilot bushmeat substitution projects are supported and their impact on demand evaluated, and d) social marketing activities are put in place to attempt to direct consumer preferences for animal protein away from bushmeat species that are particularly susceptible to over-exploitation.     

African rainforests: past,present and future

The rainforests are the great green heart of Africa, and present a unique combination of ecological, climatic and human interactions. In this synthesis paper, we review the past and present state processes of change in African rainforests, and explore the challenges and opportunities for maintaining a viable future for these biomes. We draw in particular on the insights and new analyses emerging from the Theme Issue on ‘African rainforests: past, present and future’ of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. A combination of features characterize the African rainforest biome, including a history of climate variation; forest expansion and retreat; a long history of human interaction with the biome; a relatively low plant species diversity but large tree biomass; a historically exceptionally high animal biomass that is now being severely hunted down; the dominance of selective logging; small-scale farming and bushmeat hunting as the major forms of direct human pressure; and, in Central Africa, the particular context of mineral- and oil-driven economies that have resulted in unusually low rates of deforestation and agricultural activity. We conclude by discussing how this combination of factors influences the prospects for African forests in the twenty-first century.     

野生动物狩猎、贸易和狩猎持续性研究进展

过度狩猎和过度贸易是当前生物多样性保护面临的重大挑战。虎骨和犀牛角贸易、东南亚一带的活野生动物非法狩猎和贸易、俄国远东地区及中俄边境野生动物产品非法贸易、热带地区的野生动物狩猎和丛林肉食贸易以及喜马拉雅区域的野生动物非法贸易正严重威胁着全球的野生动物资源。提倡狩猎持续性是解决过度贸易和过度捕杀的途径之一。 在众多的狩猎持续性模型中,“狩猎动物避难所模型”和“空间控制模型”提倡在狩猎区建保护区,有广泛的应用前景。了解偷猎动态和特征及其对濒危动物种群的影响,协调传统医药和野生动物保护间的关系,控制边境地区的野生动物非法狩猎和贸易,以及在保护实践中运用狩猎持续性模型是未来保护关注的焦点。野生动物非法狩猎和非法贸易严重威胁着我国的生物多样性保护和持续利用,但相关的研究却比较少。建议建立野生动物捕杀和贸易的监测机构,加强相关的立法、执法和保护区管理,开展野生动物捕杀和贸易研究。     

Human impact on wildlife populations within a protected Central African forest

This paper addresses the effect of human activities on the density of large mammals in the Dzanga‐Ndoki National Park and the adjacent Dzanga‐Sangha Reserve in the Central African Republic. Between six and eight 20 km long permanent transects were walked on a monthly basis from January 1997 to August 1999 to assess large mammal populations as well as human intrusion. There were no obvious seasonal or monthly trends in elephant, gorilla or non‐human primate densities. Overall, it appears that human activities negatively influence the distribution of most of the large forest animals in Dzanga‐Sangha. Elephants in particular were significantly less common in areas used by humans, but also other species such as non‐human primates showed lower densities closer to the main road and the town of Bayanga. This study confirms the findings of previous studies that roads have a negative impact on wildlife populations. Results of this study stress the need for conservation of large uninterrupted forest blocks to maintain wildlife populations at normal levels. Simply creating roads, even within a protected Central African forest, is likely to have negative impacts on wildlife populations.     

Implications of global warming for the climate of African rainforests

African rainforests are likely to be vulnerable to changes in temperature and precipitation, yet there has been relatively little research to suggest how the regional climate might respond to global warming. This study presents projections of temperature and precipitation indices of relevance to African rainforests, using global climate model experiments to identify local change as a function of global temperature increase. A multi-model ensemble and two perturbed physics ensembles are used, one with over 100 members. In the east of the Congo Basin, most models (92%) show a wet signal, whereas in west equatorial Africa, the majority (73%) project an increase in dry season water deficits. This drying is amplified as global temperature increases, and in over half of coupled models by greater than 3% per °C of global warming. Analysis of atmospheric dynamics in a subset of models suggests that this could be partly because of a rearrangement of zonal circulation, with enhanced convection in the Indian Ocean and anomalous subsidence over west equatorial Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and, in some seasons, the Amazon Basin. Further research to assess the plausibility of this and other mechanisms is important, given the potential implications of drying in these rainforest regions.     

Duiker demography and dispersal under hunting in Northern Congo

Duikers are the most heavily hunted species across forested Central and West Africa. Although these species form a vital food resource for people, little is known about their ecology and demography. The information available to date was collected from populations protected from hunting. However, hunting can profoundly alter demography and behaviour, such as dispersal, which in turn determine the sustainability of harvest. To address this research gap, I used radiotelemetry to examine duiker demography under hunting in Congo-Brazzaville. Among blue duikers ( Philantoba monticola , n = 17) I found annual survival rates (0.94), immature dispersal rates (0.25), and average home ranges (5.5 ha) that largely coincided with previous research from unhunted regions. Neighbouring animals all showed some home range overlap, in contrast to previous studies which found blue duikers to be strictly territorial. Although limited by sample size, immature animals' dispersal distances were relatively high (1.5 km, n = 2). Animals' dispersal rates do not appear to be greatly increased by hunting pressure, although source-sink theory depends upon high rates of dispersal to maintain the elevated and localized hunting offtakes observed around settlements. Building a fuller understanding of duiker demography under hunting, including dispersal, will be essential for conservation and management efforts.     

野生动物的价值与生态服务功能

野生动物是生态系统中活跃的、引入注目的组成部分。野生动物作为生物多样性的一部分,具有内禀价值和利用价值。同时,野生动物的价值也取决于人们的视角,即人们自身的利益。野生动物服务功能的实现离不开自然生态系统。在人类文明的早期,人类利用野生动物果腹御寒。那时,人们利用的是野生动物的直接价值。现代,野生动物的直接价值下降,野生动物的间接价值,如生态价值、文化价值却在上升。野生动物能够提供巨大的生态系统服务功能。1996年,美国人与野生动物直接有关的消费达1012亿美元,相当于中国国民总产值的10％以上。在东部和南部非洲,野生动物观光也是一项重要的产业。这种生态服务功能带动了第三产业的发展,直接推动了地区性的国民经济发展。有效的野生动物资源管理离不开控制野生动物的数量。以野生动物产业的收入养野生动物是美国野生动物保护的角色。中国的野生动物正处于利用过度期。中国野生动物提供的服务功能比美国的野生动物少得多。近年来,开展了野生动物战利品狩猎。中国对野生动物战利品狩猎的种类制定了限额,实行了严格的管理措施,以保证战利品狩猎不会影响种群的增长。事实证明有限额的战利品狩猎能促进野生动物的饿保护。当前,我国的野生动物管理应将保护野生动物的栖息生境和扩增濒危野生动物的种群为主要目的,我国的多数野生动物一旦种群数量恢复,脱离濒危状态,那些野生动物的生态系统服务功能将会对我国的国民经济产生巨大的推动作用。     

Managing subsistence hunting in the changing landscape of Neotropical rain forests

Subsistence hunting has been a vital activity for local people across Neotropical rain forests (NRF). While providing a reliable source of protein, subsistence hunting also reflected the strong relationships that connected local people with the species and ecosystems in which they inhabited. However, the social and ecological context in which subsistence hunting can be sustainable has been altered. The relatively small groups that hunted in large and mostly undisturbed forests, using traditional weapons, have been replaced by a growing population using fragmented habitats and modern hunting methods. Thus, subsistence hunting is less likely to be sustainable, threatening the food security of local people and the persistence of species with critical roles in the functioning of NRF. Managing subsistence hunting in this changing context will require a more efficient combination of tools which might include banning the hunting of large and sensitive species, strengthening protected areas, alternatives to reduce the role of wildlife protein on local people's subsistence and, in some cases, voluntary resettlements of local people, from areas that could still be used as refuge for endangered species.     

The ecological drivers and consequences of wildlife trade

Wildlife trade is a key driver of extinction risk, affecting at least 24% of terrestrial vertebrates. The persistent removal of species can have profound impacts on species extinction risk and selection within populations. We draw together the first review of characteristics known to drive species use – identifying species with larger body sizes, greater abundance, increased rarity or certain morphological traits valued by consumers as being particularly prevalent in trade. We then review the ecological implications of this trade-driven selection, revealing direct effects of trade on natural selection and populations for traded species, which includes selection against desirable traits. Additionally, there exists a positive feedback loop between rarity and trade and depleted populations tend to have easy human access points, which can result in species being harvested to extinction and has the potential to alter source–sink dynamics. Wider cascading ecosystem repercussions from trade-induced declines include altered seed dispersal networks, trophic cascades, long-term compositional changes in plant communities, altered forest carbon stocks, and the introduction of harmful invasive species. Because it occurs across multiple scales with diverse drivers, wildlife trade requires multi-faceted conservation actions to maintain biodiversity and ecological function, including regulatory and enforcement approaches, bottom-up and community-based interventions, captive breeding or wildlife farming, and conservation translocations and trophic rewilding. We highlight three emergent research themes at the intersection of trade and community ecology: (1) functional impacts of trade; (2) altered provisioning of ecosystem services; and (3) prevalence of trade-dispersed diseases. Outside of the primary objective that exploitation is sustainable for traded species, we must urgently incorporate consideration of the broader consequences for other species and ecosystem processes when quantifying sustainability.     

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.     

The future of South East Asian rainforests in a changing landscape and climate

With a focus on the Danum Valley area of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, this special issue has as its theme the future of tropical rainforests in a changing landscape and climate. The global environmental context to the issue is briefly given before the contents and rationale of the issue are summarized. Most of the papers are based on research carried out as part of the Royal Society South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme. The issue is divided into five sections: (i) the historical land-use and land management context; (ii) implications of land-use change for atmospheric chemistry and climate change; (iii) impacts of logging, forest fragmentation (particularly within an oil palm plantation landscape) and forest restoration on ecosystems and their functioning; (iv) the response and resilience of rainforest systems to climatic and land-use change; and (v) the scientific messages and policy implications arising from the research findings presented in the issue.     

Distinguishing Central African rodents and shrews using their hair morphology

Species identification methods are needed for small mammals. Herein, we present a simple and efficient identification key based on the hair morphology of Central African rodents (Rodentia) and shrews (Soricomorpha). A total of 1,320 museum hair samples from 51 species were analysed with an optical light microscope. One‐third (31.37%) of these samples could be identified to the species level using four morphological characters (medulla, cuticle, size and colour). The remaining species formed nine groups of two to 10 species each which could not be discriminated because of overlapping characteristics between different taxa. In addition, shrew, dormice and squirrel hair samples were clearly distinguishable from the other samples because they were either shorter (0.68 ± 0.19 cm) or longer (1.86 ± 0.3 and 1.85 ± 0.63 cm), respectively. In addition, 19 (43.18%) field‐collected samples of unknown origin were successfully identified to the level of species or group of species. Thus, to increase the efficiency of this identification key, the inclusion of more morphological characteristics (i.e. hair diameter and shape, cuticle index, cortex types) and DNA barcoding should be considered. Finally, the proposed identification key could be used as a simple and efficient tool for species inventories and ecological studies of targeted taxa in Central Africa.     

Habitat alteration,hunting and the conservation of folivorous primates in African forests

Abstract The colobus monkeys and gorillas of African forests share a strong tendency to depend on foliage during lean seasons. In many areas, both kinds of primate are threatened by habitat destruction. But while the total removal of natural habitat is clearly a major threat to the survival of many African forest primates, an analysis of survey data suggests that human predation tends to have a greater negative impact on primate populations than does selective logging or low-intensity bush-fallow agriculture. In the absence of hunting, the population density of colobus monkeys correlates with the protein: fibre ratio of mature tree foliage in their habitat, and the density of gorillas appears to be correlated with the abundance of terrestrial herbaceous vegetation. Because moderately disturbed forest can be relatively rich in high-quality lean-season folivore foods, such forest sometimes supports a higher density of folivorous primates than forest that has not been recently disturbed but that has been subject to hunting. Conservation plans for African forests should place more emphasis on the control of hunting and less on rural development, and long-range plans should also allow for the strong possibility of political instability.     

A comparison of the efficiencies of the shotgun and the bow in neotropical forest hunting

Whenever introduced into Amazonia and its neighboring regions, the shotgun has quickly replaced the bow and arrow and other aboriginal weapons of the hunt. The quick and widespread adoption of the shotgun is plainly a matter of its superiority over most aboriginal weapons. This paper compares the hunting efficiencies of the shotgun and the bow by means of a controlled field experiment among the Ye'kwana and Yanomamö Indians of the Upper Orinoco River of southern Venezuela. It also examines the impact of the shotgun on local animal populations and the economic changes brought about by the need to cash-crop in order to purchase Western hunting technology.Funds for the research and writing of this paper were made possible by an NIMH predoctoral fellowship to Napoleon A. Chagnon, Grant No. NIMH 5 R01 MH 26008-SSR.     

Habitat availability,hunting or poaching: what affects distribution and density of large mammals in western Tanzanian woodlands?

Game reserves (GR) in Tanzania have been found to support similar or lower densities of large mammals compared with National parks (NP). But as these areas usually differ considerably not only in regard to management but also to environmental factors, we assessed the relative importance of vegetation cover, species‐specific habitat preferences and legal (trophy hunting) and illegal off‐take for observed differences in species‐specific densities. In the Katavi ecosystem, open habitats were characteristic elements of Katavi NP, while Rukwa GR was dominated by miombo forest. In an inter‐specific comparison, density differences were moderately correlated with preferences for open habitats, and with estimates of combined legal and illegal off‐take but not with one of these separately. In a multiple linear regression, open habitat preference was found to explain 39.6% of the density differences between the two protected areas. This analysis suggests that the broad‐scale pattern of most species’ distributions is governed by differing vegetation cover but that several species are overexploited by illegal (elephant, giraffe, buffalo, bush pig, warthog) or combined off‐take (hippopotamus, eland, waterbuck), thus emphasizing the need for quota readjustments and a more efficient anti‐poaching control.