May 14, 2026
Journal Article
Psychometric framework for coexistence with large carnivores. Conservation Biology
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Abstract
Human–carnivore coexistence is essential for biodiversity conservation, yet measuring the attitudes and behaviors that support it remains methodologically challenging. We developed psychometric scales to assess willingness to coexist with carnivores and the underlying beliefs of this coexistence through an iterative expert elicitation process grounded in risk perception theory and moral psychology to ensure strong content validity. The scales measure willingness to coexist and encompass individual and collective behaviors and their cognitive antecedents: perceived positive consequences, perceived negative consequences, and ethical considerations. We validated the scales based on three representative samples of Colorado residents (n = 434, 442, 433) focused on gray wolves (Canis lupus), mountain lions (Puma concolor), and black bears (Ursus americanus). Validation involved expert review, cognitive interviews, confirmatory factor analyses, and measurement invariance testing across species. The scales demonstrated strong construct validity, with factor structures consistent with theoretical expectations and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Concurrent validity was supported through associations with related attitudes and behavioral intentions. These instruments offer researchers a robust, theory-driven framework for examining human–wildlife interactions that facilitates standardized comparisons across species and contexts. For practitioners, the psychometric scales provide a practical means to assess public readiness for coexistence, monitor attitudinal change over time, and design interventions tailored to specific belief structures.
May 05, 2026
Journal Article
Validating remotely sensed biomass estimates with forest inventory data in the western US
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Abstract
Monitoring aboveground biomass (AGB) and its density (AGBD) at high resolution is essential for carbon accounting and ecosystem management. While NASA's spaceborne Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) LiDAR mission provides globally distributed reference measurements for AGBD estimation, the majority of commercial remote sensing products based on GEDI remain without rigorous or independent validation. Here, we present an independent regional validation of an AGBD dataset offered by terraPulse, Inc., based on independent reference data from the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program. Aggregated to 64,000-ha hexagons and US counties across the US states of Utah, Nevada, and Washington, we found very strong agreement between terraPulse and FIA estimates. At the hexagon scale, we report R2 = 0.88, RMSE = 26.68 Mg ha−1, slope = 0.99, and a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.94. At the county scale, agreement improves to R2 = 0.90, RMSE = 32.62 Mg ha−1, slope = 1.07, and r = 0.95. Spatial and statistical analyses indicated that terraPulse AGBD values tended to exceed FIA estimates in non-forested areas, likely due to FIA's limited sampling of non-forested vegetation. The terraPulse AGBD estimates also exhibited lower values in high-biomass forests, likely due to saturation effects in its optical remote-sensing covariates. This study advances operational carbon monitoring by delivering a scalable framework for comprehensive AGBD validation using independent FIA data, as well as a benchmark validation of a new commercial dataset for global biomass monitoring.
Apr 02, 2026
Journal Article
Restoring the wild east: predicting public support for cougar and red wolf comebacks in the Eastern United States
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Abstract
Restoring large carnivores to human-dominated landscapes remains ecologically and socially contentious, though reintroduction may offer important benefits where coexistence is possible. Yet, efforts to reintroduce cougars (Puma concolor) and red wolves (Canis rufus) in the Eastern U.S. face major challenges, largely due to human-caused mortality and opposition. We employed the hazard acceptance model and structural equation modeling to investigate the socio-psychological drivers of public support for reintroduction. Survey data were collected from residents of the Eastern U.S. for cougars (n = 2665) and red wolves (n = 3825). For both species, support was positively associated with perceived personal and societal benefits and negatively associated with perceived societal risks. Perceived personal risk significantly reduced support for cougars, but had no effect for red wolves. Positive affect toward each species strongly influenced support by shaping risk and benefit perceptions. Perceived control over risks also reduced risk perceptions and boosted support. These findings highlight species-specific concerns and suggest pathways for more effective outreach, conflict mitigation, and carnivore recovery planning.
Mar 12, 2026
Journal Article
Resilience thinking for human–wildlife coexistence: Bridging dynamic systems, archetypes, and transformations
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Abstract
As human activities and wildlife increasingly overlap in the Anthropocene, conventional conservation paradigms focused on land-sparing are shifting toward strategies that support human–wildlife coexistence. However, achieving sustainable coexistence is often hindered by a limited understanding of the dynamic social–ecological processes that drive integrated human–wildlife systems. This Special Issue explores “resilience thinking” as a scientific framework to address these knowledge gaps. By bridging sustainability and wildlife sciences, we examine how concepts such as adaptive capacity, feedback loops, system archetypes, and tipping points can illuminate the conditions that facilitate stable coexistence or lead to persistent conflict. Through diverse global case studies ranging from carnivore management in Europe to primate interactions in Indonesia, contributions highlight how societal perceptions, governance, and co-adaptation shape system trajectories. Ultimately, we argue that fostering durable coexistence requires moving beyond incremental adaptation toward transformative governance that centers on equity, relationality, and proactive management.
Mar 09, 2026
Journal Article
Perceived costs as drivers of wildlife management preferences in rural Tanzanian communities
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Abstract
Effectively managing human–wildlife interactions is crucial for fostering coexistence on shared landscapes. Management options are most effective when aligned with the preferences of people directly affected by wildlife, yet little is known about how socioecological factors influence these preferences. Integrating responses from 680 rural residents of northern Tanzania and remotely sensed data, we parameterized a Bayesian hierarchical model to test predictions of the hazard-acceptance model. We estimated how perceived costs and benefits, distance to protected areas, and the human footprint index mediate preferences for managing (preventing damage, compensating damage, reducing populations, and doing nothing) interactions with herbivore (elephant, giraffe, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and impala) and carnivore (lion, hyena, leopard, cheetah, honey badger, and jackal) species. Most respondents preferred management options that supported coexistence: prevention (41.9%), no management (38.0%), and compensation (11.1%). In contrast, population reduction (9.0%) was least preferred but more frequently selected for carnivores (13.4%) than herbivores (5.3%). Perceived costs strongly influenced management preferences. Respondents perceiving tangible costs were more likely to prefer prevention (posterior mean: 0.57 [95% credible interval 0.00 to 0.99]) over compensation (0.07 [0.00 to 0.66]) or population reduction (0.16 [0.00 to 0.87]), whereas those not perceiving costs leaned toward no management (0.40 [−0.74 to 1.78]). Though perceived benefits were less influential than costs, respondents associating species with intangible (0.10 [0.00 to 0.74]) or tourism benefits (0.06 [0.00 to 0.63]) were less likely to support population reduction than those perceiving no benefits (0.12 [0.00 to 0.82]). Distance to protected areas and the human footprint index had weaker, inconsistent effects, but random intercepts indicated substantial village–village variation in preferred management options. Our results suggest that conservation strategies should primarily address wildlife-related costs and foster coexistence by more equitably distributing benefits. A possible strategy could include investing tourism revenues into comanaged, locally tailored damage prevention measures.
Feb 11, 2026
Journal Article
Trait mediated effects of anthropogenic noise on bird behavior and fitness
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Abstract
Birds are considered especially vulnerable to anthropogenic noise because of their reliance on acoustic information. Single-species research shows that noise can impact different aspects of bird behaviour and consequently reduce their fitness. However, we have a limited understanding of how ecological and life-history traits mediate responses to anthropogenic noise across species. We performed a meta-analysis to quantify noise impacts on bird behaviours (communication, cognition, aggression, risk, foraging and habitat use) and fitness-related responses (growth, physiology and reproduction), and how bird traits, such as nesting and habitat type, mediated those responses. Using 944 effect sizes from 160 bird species across six continents, we found that anthropogenic noise significantly affected various behaviours as well as physiology and had strong negative effects on reproductive responses. We also found that anthropogenic noise had stronger negative effects on bird reproduction for species that nest nearer to the ground, while growth and physiological responses were stronger for species that nested in open rather than cavity nests and those living in deciduous forests, respectively. Our results highlight the characteristics of those birds most vulnerable to noise pollution and inform how conservation actions can best reduce the impacts of human-made noise in those species’ habitats.
Feb 05, 2026
Journal Article
More entertainment than action on YouTube: the challenges of bending the biodiversity curve with public engagement
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Abstract
Biodiversity loss is accelerating despite decades of conservation efforts, highlighting the need for new strategies to engage the public and influence policy. Digital platforms, particularly social media, offer powerful opportunities to shape conservation discourse at scale. Here, we analyze wildlife-related YouTube videos to assess dominant themes, audience engagement, and the frequency of conservation-related calls to action. We combined human-guided coding with machine learning to classify thousands of videos and associated comments in our sample. We find that appreciation for wildlife is the most common attitude, while explicit calls to action (e.g., “Contact your senator”) are uncommon. Conservation-themed videos represent a small share of wildlife content and compete with entertainment-based content. These findings highlight the need for conservationists to rethink their digital strategy, moving from awareness-only content to messages that foster deeper engagement and action. Our study illustrates how social media analytics can inform biodiversity conservation and broader sustainability goals.
Jan 16, 2026
Journal Article
Evaluating the empirical basis for threat attribution in the IUCN Red List
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Abstract
Understanding the impacts of different threats on species is key to successful conservation interventions and policies. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assesses threats to species, and the organization's Red List of Threatened Species is a key conservation tool. We quantified the degree to which threats in IUCN assessments for 3 vertebrate groups (birds, amphibians, and ray-finned fishes) were based on species-specific quantitative empirical data. To do this, for 2142 IUCN species assessments, all listed references were reviewed to determine whether they contained species-specific quantitative data linking a listed threat and the assessed species. Only 7.5% of listed threats across all taxa and categories were based on species-specific quantitative data. For species with at least one threat listed, only 12.5% of species had species-specific quantitative data underlying at least one threat. There were more data on threats for some taxa, and there was a trend toward having more information on threats that are generally considered less predictable, such as “invasive/problematic” species and climate change. Understanding how a lack of species-specific data may affect understanding of extinction processes is crucial for continued improvement of conservation outcomes.
Jan 10, 2026
Journal Article
Roads as Dynamic Stressors: Physiological response of mule deer to roads differs during range residency and migration
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Abstract
Context
Wildlife responses to disturbance may include physiological stress responses that are often difficult to observe yet important for wildlife health. Coupling physiological biologgers with tracking data can identify anthropogenic features associated with stress responses. Diagnosing when, where, and the response to stressors, along with how species may habituate or sensitize to stressors over time, is crucial for conservation efforts.
Objectives
We examined if mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) exhibited acute stress responses to road crossings, identified the road features and contexts associated with the size of response, and determined factors that influence the response through repeated exposures over time.
Methods
We used GPS locations paired with cardiac monitors across three regions of Utah, USA to measure fine-scale changes in deer heart rates during road crossings. We measured dynamic traffic patterns using human mobility data (HMD) to characterize associated traffic volumes during crossing events.
Results
Road crossing events were associated with detectable heart rate spike (30.6 bpm) and elevated mean heart rate (8.3%) in deer. Road crossings with higher HMD derived traffic volume resulted in greater heart rate spikes during migration (46%) and summer (24%) seasons. Habituation among deer correlated with higher frequency of crossings and better body condition, while sensitization correlated with higher traffic presence and higher road density.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the stress response to roads and the factors driving the magnitude of the response. Integrating fine-scale physiological data with animal movement and human mobility data offers a means to diagnose dynamic stressors on the landscape at both broad and fine spatial and temporal scales for wildlife.
Apr 02, 2026
Journal Article
Toward a Synthetic Theory of Tolerance for Carnivores: Learning from a Half-Century of Research on Attitudes Toward Wolves
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Abstract
Human intolerance is a critical factor limiting both the distributions and populations of large carnivores. Using gray wolves as a case study, we synthesize a half-century of scholarship with the aims of clarifying the conceptual foundations of “tolerance” and integrating insights from across the social sciences. Specifically, we review longitudinal studies of attitudes toward wolves and show how trends vary across the populations examined. We then identify and discuss three complementary theories that help explain variation in tolerance across individuals, social groups, and societies: (1) Risk–benefit theories illuminate how perceptions of risks, benefits, and controllability shape individuals’ tolerance of carnivores; (2) Modernization theory explains societal shifts in values and shows how reduced threats from carnivores impact tolerance at the societal level; and (3) Social Identity Theory highlights how identification with interest groups (e.g., hunters, environmentalists) shape beliefs in a manner that serves to exacerbate inter-group conflicts. Linking these theoretical perspectives provides a more holistic framework for understanding why tolerance can change within populations, and why inter-group conflicts persist even as societal attitudes have become more favorable. We conclude by outlining research priorities aimed at improving our understanding of tolerance and the conditions that allow for human–carnivore coexistence.
Nov 30, 2025
Journal Article
Long-term benefits of burns for large mammal habitat undermined by large, severe fires in the American West
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Abstract
Escalating wildfire frequency and severity are altering wildland habitats worldwide. Yet investigations into fire impacts on wildlife habitat rarely extend to the macroecological scales relevant to species conservation and global change processes. We evaluate the effects of wildfire on habitat quality and selection by large mammals spanning three trophic levels in the Western United States. We analyze 12 years of GPS telemetry data for 2966 mule deer Odocoileus hemionus, 52 black bears Ursus americanus, and 74 cougars Puma concolor across Utah and Nevada, USA. Over 800 areas burned between 1990–2022 overlapped with the home ranges of 1892 animals, resulting in almost 23 000 km2 of burned habitat and representing 12.8% of the total home range area for animals in our sample. Habitat suitability models for 664 mule deer, 14 black bears and 11 cougars indicated that burns improved summer home range quality for mule deer and black bears by 7% and 14%, respectively, highlighting the benefits of fires for nutrient cycling, understory herbaceous growth, and resultant caloric value for animal nutrition. When making fine-scale movement decisions, however, mule deer avoided burned habitats, and all three species generally avoided high-severity burns for up to 30 years post-fire. Thus, the effects of burns on wildlife habitat selection appear to be dependent on spatial scale. Given projected increases in large, severe fires, our results suggest potential reductions in beneficial habitat for wildlife in the long term. However, our results also suggest that prescribed burns, because of their smaller spatial footprints and lower severity relative to wildfires, can benefit wildlife habitat quality through improvements in forage, cover, and other vegetation characteristics. Therefore, managing for low-severity burns and limiting large, severe wildfires, e.g. via prescribed burns or fire control policies, could positively impact the habitat quality of these three common species and, therefore, the economic and ecosystem services they provide.
Oct 20, 2025
Journal Article
Acute drought desiccates highly used habitat and drives herbivores into irrigated croplands
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Abstract
In arid and semiarid regions, extreme, extended droughts are becoming more frequent due to climate change. Drought is driving wildlife to seek out food or water resources where they are not as limited, such as in irrigated croplands. We collected GPS locations from 41 mule deer, a generalist herbivore reliant on primary productivity, within three study areas in Utah, USA, during a summer without drought conditions and a summer with extreme drought. This natural experiment provided an opportunity to assess how mule deer shifted their habitat selection, specifically whether drought increased mule deer's use of anthropogenic resources. We integrated remotely sensed estimates from ECOSTRESS, an instrument mounted on the International Space Station that measures evapotranspiration, to characterize a shift in resource use. Mule deer resource use was strongly influenced by the amount of evapotranspiration. In the drought year, shrub habitats lost succulence and mule deer avoided them (57.0% shrub habitat use in baseline vs. 44.6% during drought) and sought out agricultural croplands (increase from 6.2% to 11.8% from baseline to drought). Critically, this behavioral switch from shrub to crop was mediated by the rate of evapotranspiration and we identify the shift when evapotranspiration was >1.03 mm/day. We estimated that the proportion of shrub habitat in the study area with evapotranspiration >1.03 mm/day dropped from 68.8% to 27.2% between the baseline and the acute drought year. Evapotranspiration measured by ECOSTRESS provides complementary information to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), a commonly used metric of vegetative greenness, and offers a mechanistic understanding of ungulate resource use that increases the performance of habitat selection models for herbivores. As the impacts of climate change become more acute, wildlife will be drawn from natural areas to locations with anthropogenic resources, elevating the risk of human–wildlife conflict and mortality. Our study points to the need for the use of new data streams, like data derived from ECOSTRESS, into adaptive wildlife management and climate change adaptation planning to minimize human–wildlife risk and damages to humans.
Sep 24, 2025
Journal Article
Balancing Accessibility and Security: Safeguarding Citizen-Sourced Biodiversity Data in the Age of AI and Open-Sourced Software
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Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and open-source software are revolutionizing biodiversity monitoring by democratizing access to citizen-science datasets. While these advancements facilitate conservation efforts and scientific research, they pose significant risks for data misuse. Researchers who reduce barriers to accessing such biodiversity datasets are responsible for safeguarding sensitive data.
Sep 22, 2025
Journal Article
Differential effects of spatiotemporal forage predictability on ungulate movement behavior in disparate ecosystems
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Abstract
Increasing ecological perturbations resulting from global change processes are altering the environmental predictability (EP) of critical forage and water resources for wildlife. While research has furthered our understanding of how EP both underlies and directs animal movement, studies have mainly focused on relationships between EP and large-scale movement behaviors (e.g. migration) at the species level, neglecting the mediating influence that environmental context has on the behavior of wide-ranging species. We address these knowledge gaps by examining how EP of forage in mule deer Odocoileus hemionus – a cosmopolitan species of the American southwest – seasonal home ranges relates to average daily movement distance, focusing on two female populations inhabiting disparate ecoregions in Utah, USA (n = 225, 2015–2022). We employed two separate metrics of EP, representing spatial and temporal constancy of vegetation productivity, and explored how home range (HR) area, forage availability, and season modulate the relationships between EP and daily movement distance. We found spatial constancy of an individual's HR significantly impacted movement during the summer and had significant interactions with HR area and forage availability. Interestingly, individuals inhabiting spatially constant HRs moved more in resource-limited seasonal environments, and less in non-limiting environments. Temporal constancy was a significant predictor of movement in non-limiting seasonal environments, resulting in shorter daily movements of deer with temporally constant HR areas. Finally, we found a significant interaction between spatial and temporal constancy, resulting in shorter daily movements of individuals inhabiting resource-limited HRs that were spatially and temporally constant. Interactions between HR area, forage availability, and constancy metrics demonstrate how the EP may become a larger driver of movement decisions as habitat quality is reduced. Understanding how EP drives movement of mule deer aids our ability to predict how global change will impact individual fitness, space use requirements and population demographics of ungulates.
Aug 20, 2025
Journal Article
Elusive effects of legalized wolf hunting on human-wolf interactions
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Abstract
Expanding gray wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Europe and North America contribute to increased risks of livestock predation, which can threaten human livelihoods and lead government agencies to target wolves for lethal removal. Public wolf hunting is a highly contentious strategy for mitigating these risks, yet few empirical studies examine its effectiveness in doing so. Using difference-in-differences and structural equation modeling of data from the northwestern US between 2005 and 2021, we analyzed impacts of wolf hunting on livestock predation by wolves and government removal of wolves in the same year and with a 1-year time lag while controlling for social and environmental variables. We found that public wolf hunting had a small negative effect on livestock predation but had no effect on government lethal removal of wolves in the same or subsequent years. Our findings challenge the assumption that wolf hunting is an effective management strategy for reducing livestock predation and lethal removal.
Jul 23, 2025
Journal Article
Public support for puma reintroduction in the eastern U.S.
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Abstract
Pumas (Puma concolor) are among the species identified as having the potential to enhance ecosystem function. Previous research highlights sufficient ecological habitat to support pumas in the eastern United States; however, their reintroduction requires social and institutional support as well. To this end, we conducted research to assess attitudes about puma reintroduction among key constituencies like hunters, rural residents, and young people. We sampled 2756 respondents across seven states (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and West Virginia). Ratios of strong support (for puma reintroduction) to strong opposition across states ranged from 4:1 to 13:1, and support outweighed opposition in every state. Our results contrasted with common assumptions that hunters, rural residents, and people who identify as politically conservative oppose carnivore conservation and reintroduction. We found marginal differences among categories of people, but overall little variation in support exhibited by different groups. People who identified very strongly as hunters were more supportive of reintroduction than those who did not identify as hunters at all. Taken together, the presence of quality habitat and support for puma restoration warrant further exploration. However, federal funding for state-based restoration efforts likely requires the inclusion of pumas in State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs), which are currently under a 10-year revision due to be published this year (2025).
Jul 16, 2025
Journal Article
Global scale assessment of the human-induced extinction crisis of terrestrial carnivores
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Abstract
Human impacts on carnivores are a persistent conservation challenge worldwide. We present a global analysis showing the overlap of conservation lands and the cumulative impact of humans on the distribution ranges of 257 terrestrial carnivore species. Our findings reveal that 64% of carnivore ranges overlap with areas characterized by high human pressures. We found that Indigenous peoples’ lands emerge as crucial for carnivore population viability, potentially safeguarding 26% of carnivore ranges globally, while protected and wilderness areas cover roughly 10 and 16% of carnivore ranges, respectively. These three areas combined cover 35% of the global range of carnivores. Reducing human pressure on conservation lands and managing them to protect carnivores are therefore critical, yet challenging. The extent of carnivore ranges outside these areas underscores the necessity to expand the network of conservation lands, which are a pivotal component of global conservation planning, alongside broader proactive species-specific conservation measures.
Apr 29, 2025
Journal Article
Bridging social and ecological science to create spatially explicit models of human-caused mortality of carnivores
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Abstract
Research indicates that human-caused mortality (HCM) is a key factor limiting numerous large carnivore populations. However, efforts to represent HCM in spatially explicit models have generally been limited in scope—often relying on proxies, such as road or human density. Yet such efforts fail to distinguish different sources of HCM, which can arise from different antecedent processes. We offer a systems-based conceptual framework for understanding the antecedents of HCMs that is grounded in theory from the social and behavioral sciences. Specifically, we first explain how HCMs are usefully distinguished into four types (e.g., accidental, harvest, illicit, control actions), then discuss how these different types tend to be driven by different sets of psychological and sociopolitical processes. We contend that improvements in understanding the spatial variation in HCMs would rise from more explicit attention to the various antecedent processes that precede each mortality type.
Mar 06, 2025
Journal Article
Beneficial spillover effects of anti-predation interventions support human-carnivore coexistence
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Abstract
Reducing human–wildlife conflict is critical for global biodiversity conservation and supporting livelihoods in landscapes where people and wildlife co-occur. Interventions intended to reduce conflicts and their negative outcomes are diverse and widespread, yet there is often a dearth of empirical evidence regarding effectiveness, particularly at appropriate spatiotemporal scales. We investigate an underappreciated question relevant to large carnivore–livestock systems globally regarding spillover effects of anti-conflict interventions: Do fortified livestock enclosures modify carnivore predation on livestock for neighbors who lack such interventions? We use ca. 25,000 monthly reports from agropastoralists in an East African landscape critical for large carnivore conservation. Results from Bayesian multilevel statistical models demonstrate robust effects of fortified livestock enclosures in reducing reported predation not only in target households, but also in neighboring households that lack such fortification—a beneficial spillover effect. Results provide empirical evidence for policy and practice regarding tools to reduce large carnivore conflicts while pointing to the important role of complex-systems processes in determining coexistence outcomes.
Feb 19, 2025
Journal Article
Strategic planning could reduce farm-scale mariculture impacts on marine biodiversity while expanding seafood production
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Abstract
Mariculture is one of the fastest growing global markets. Although it has potential to improve livelihoods and facilitate economic growth, it can negatively impact marine biodiversity. Here we estimate local cumulative environmental impacts from current and future (2050) mariculture production on marine biodiversity (20,013 marine fauna), while accounting for species range shifts under climate change. With strategic planning, the 1.82-fold increase in finfish and 2.36-fold increase in bivalve production needed to meet expected global mariculture demand in 2050 could be achieved with up to a 30.5% decrease in cumulative impact to global marine biodiversity. This is because all future mariculture farms are strategically placed in sea areas with the lowest cumulative impact. Our results reveal where and how much mariculture impacts could change in the coming decades and identify pathways for countries to minimize risks under expansion of mariculture and climate change through strategic planning.
Feb 14, 2025
Journal Article
State-level variation drives wolf management in the northwestern United States
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Abstract
Recovered and recovering carnivore populations in Europe and North America can pose risks to some human livelihoods like livestock ranching. These risks can motivate wildlife managers to lethally remove carnivores—decisions that are often controversial and poorly understood. We used a 13-year dataset on gray wolves (Canis lupus) in the northwestern United States (Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon) to analyze how social, demographic, and environmental variables influence lethal removal of wolves at the county and state levels. We found that state-level differences are a major driver of lethal removal decisions at the county level. The percentage of federally owned and protected lands was also positively correlated with lethal removal. Predation of livestock by wolves was not significantly correlated with wolf removals in Idaho, but was in Montana, Washington, and Oregon. Our results stress the need to make transparent the process by which recovering populations of carnivores are managed to enhance the legitimacy of management policies.
Nov 19, 2025
Journal Article
Coexisting with biodiversity requires more than procedural justice: a response to Pooley (2024).
Nov 17, 2024
Journal Article
Divergent values and perspectives drive three distinct viewpoints on grizzly bear reintroduction in Washington, USA
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Abstract
1. The success or failure of apex carnivore reintroduction efforts can hinge on understanding and attending to diverse viewpoints of those involved in and impacted by reintroductions. Yet, viewpoints vary widely due to a suite of complex and intersecting factors, such as values, beliefs and sociocultural context. We ask, ‘what are the diverse viewpoints that exist surrounding apex carnivore recovery and what kinds of emotional, analytical and values-based judgments might people use to construct their viewpoints?’
2. We used Q-methodology to identify distinct, generalized viewpoints and areas of overlap and divergence between them, surrounding a proposal to reintroduce grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) to the North Cascades Ecosystem, USA. Q-methodology combines qualitative and quantitative methods by asking purposefully sampled respondents to sort various statements on a given topic into an ordered grid.
3. We found three distinct viewpoints among 67 respondents using factor analysis and responses to open-ended questions about the sorting exercise. Two of these viewpoints represent essentially polarized perspectives corresponding to deeply normative notions about grizzly bear recovery, where one views reintroducing bears as a moral requisite, and the other views it as inappropriate and risky. These viewpoints primarily diverged on their perceptions of risk and perspectives about our collective responsibilities to and appropriate relationships with others (i.e. ‘relational values’). The third viewpoint was distinguished by its prioritization of practical considerations and views reintroducing bears as impractical and not sensible.
4. Our analysis underscores the need to identify and attend to latent viewpoints that may be overlooked in the polarized public discourse as well as the multiple value systems and perceptions of risk that are integrated in perspectives on grizzly bear reintroduction. Additionally, our broadly defined identity groups were of very little utility in predicting viewpoints in this study, highlighting the importance of avoiding assumptions about people's views based on their identities and interests.
5. We argue that forefronting conversations about responsibilities and appropriate relationships is critical for finding acceptable paths forward in such recovery efforts. We discuss the management implications of these findings for the North Cascades grizzly bear reintroduction, and for other large carnivore reintroductions.
Oct 04, 2024
Journal Article
Artificial Intelligence and Crowdsourced Social Media Data for Biodiversity
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Abstract
Environmental resilience is intrinsically tied to the conservation and promotion of biodiversity at multiple scales, spanning from local ecosystems to the global biosphere. Biodiversity assumes a pivotal role in the capacity of ecosystems to endure and recuperate from diverse perturbations. Human-induced stressors are causing unprecedented losses to biodiversity. Preventing and reversing the global biodiversity crisis necessitates targeted conservation endeavors, yet monitoring efforts are expensive, and conservation resources are limited. This lack of information on biodiversity statuses and trends may obscure population declines and potential extinctions. As a result, there is a pressing need for cost-effective and scalable solutions to monitor biodiversity. Here, we carried out a systematic literature review focusing on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods to assess social media data for biodiversity and conservation, identifying 32 articles. Our review focused on capturing which AI approaches were used, and where relevant how studies used multiple AI methodologies for a multimodal approach. Our results highlight significant recent developments in computer vision, natural language programming, and spatial analysis, and discuss their exciting applications to big data from social media for biodiversity monitoring, which hitherto have been underexplored. Social media uniquely allows for multi-modal analysis offering a rich understanding of conservation issues by combining multiple data types, such as audio, video, and text. Compared to previous ecological research harnessing AI and social media, a multimodal approach offers additional insight relevant to biodiversity monitoring, including tracking the changes in timing and distribution patterns of biodiversity events and identifying areas affected by invasive species. By harnessing the capabilities of computer vision, natural language processing, and spatial–temporal analysis, we can unlock valuable insights from social media posts and guide conservation strategies for enhancing environmental resilience in an efficient and scalable manner.
Sep 08, 2024
Journal Article
Dynamic primary resources, not just wild prey availability, underpin lion depredation of livestock in a savanna ecosystem
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Abstract
Because it can lead to retaliatory killing, livestock depredation by large carnivores is among the foremost threats to carnivore conservation, and it severely impacts human well-being worldwide. Ongoing climate change can amplify these human–wildlife conflicts, but such issues are largely unexplored, though are becoming increasingly recognized. Here, we assessed how the availability of primary resources and wild prey interact to shape large carnivore selection for livestock rather than wild prey (i.e., via prey switching or apparent competition). Specifically, we combined remotely sensed estimates of primary resources (i.e., water availability and primary productivity), wild prey movement, and 7 years (2015–2021) of reports for livestock depredation by African lions (Panthera leo) in the Makgadikgadi Pans ecosystem, Botswana. Although livestock depredation did not vary between wet versus dry seasons, analyses at finer temporal scales revealed higher incidences of livestock depredation when primary production, water availability, and wild prey availability were lower, though the effects of wild prey availability were mediated by water availability. Increased precipitation also amplified livestock depredation events despite having no influence on wild prey availability. Our results suggest that livestock depredation is influenced by the diverse responses of livestock, wild prey, and lions to primary resource availability, a driver that is largely overlooked or oversimplified in studies of human–carnivore conflict. Our findings provide insight into tailoring potential conflict mitigation strategies to fine-scale changes in resource conditions to efficiently reduce conflict and support human livelihoods.
Aug 21, 2024
Journal Article
Global expansion of human-wildlife overlap in the 21st century
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Abstract
Understanding the extent to which people and wildlife overlap in space and time is critical for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological services. Yet, how global change will reshape the future of human-wildlife overlap has not been assessed. We show that the potential spatial overlap of global human populations and 22,374 terrestrial vertebrate species will increase across ~56.6% and decrease across only ~11.8% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface by 2070. Increases are driven primarily by intensification of human population densities, not change in wildlife distributions caused by climate change. The strong spatial heterogeneity of future human-wildlife overlap found in our study makes it clear that local context is imperative to consider, and more targeted area-based land-use planning should be integrated into systematic conservation planning.
Jun 15, 2024
Journal Article
Jaguar conservation is caught in the crossfire of America’s’ War on Drugs’
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Abstract
International conservation efforts and prohibitionary drug intersect in unexpected ways throughout the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC). US-led counterdrug interdiction of transnational cocaine trafficking, or ‘narco-trafficking’, is increasingly pushing narco-traffickers and their associated environmental destruction into protected areas (PAs) to establish new smuggling routes. These locations are also where the greatest densities of jaguars (Panthera onca), an iconic and declining species, are found in Central America. Intersecting two geospatial datasets estimating 1) jaguar densities and 2) changes in landscape suitability for drug trafficking following counterdrug interdiction pressure, we estimated that roughly 69 % of the estimated population of jaguars in the MBC were found in areas of increased suitability for narco-traffickers. Moreover, jaguar populations within PAs were 2.5 and 34 times more likely to be in increased narco-trafficking suitability areas than those in jaguar corridors or other area without conservation designations, respectively. These findings illustrate the full costs of continuing current counterdrug interdiction policies alongside conventional conservation strategies and suggest that community-based conservation governance may more effectively discourage narco-trafficking activities and enhance conservation outcomes.
May 13, 2024
Journal Article
Predictions & perceptions: A social-ecological analysis of human-carnivore conflict in Botswana
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Abstract
Human-carnivore conflict in agrarian landscapes poses a significant threat to both large carnivore populations and human livelihoods. Conservation strategies aimed at mitigating conflict often rely primarily on ecological, landscape-scale factors. However, assessing the influence of microhabitat, as well as local variation in human perceptions, can offer valuable insights into the spatial patterns of human-carnivore conflict. The objectives of this study were to identify landscape predictors of livestock depredation risk, characterize microhabitat vegetation patterns at kill sites, and assess the spatial alignment between ecologically-predicted and human-perceived depredation risk. Through use of predation risk modeling, microhabitat pattern analysis, and participatory mapping exercises, we provide insight into the spatial patterns of livestock depredation risk from a multi-carnivore guild in an agrarian landscape located in the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. We identified 170 depredation events and conducted 63 participatory mapping exercises across community lands situated between two wildlife protected areas. Results indicated anthropogenic landscape variables as the primary drivers of general depredation risk. Notably, distinct spatial patterns emerged between African lion (Panthera leo) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) depredation, underscoring the need for species-specific conservation strategies. Microhabitat analysis indicated a preference for lower vegetation cover within the multi-predator guild, suggesting livestock microhabitat risk-mitigation behaviors outweigh predator hunting strategies. While human perceptions generally aligned with ecologically predicted risk, identified divergences emphasize the importance of tailored conflict mitigation strategies to accommodate varying influences. Overall, the findings advocate for species-specific depredation risk analyses and the inclusion of human perceptions for a comprehensive spatial understanding of livestock depredation risk.
Mar 26, 2024
Journal Article
Private land conservation towards large landscape goals: Role of relational values, property rights orientations and perceived efficacy in ranchers’ actions
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Abstract
1. Many of the world's iconic, endangered and endemic species rely on large, contiguous landscapes for their survival.
2. In the US West, working ranches are integral to large landscape conservation goals and there are numerous influences on ranchers' conservation actions, including their relational values, perceived self-efficacy and property rights concerns.
3. Using survey data from 681 ranchers in eastern Idaho and western Montana, we sought to answer the question: How do relational values, property rights orientations, perceived efficacy and public lands dependence affect reported conservation actions on private ranch lands?
4. Conservation adoption varied widely by action, with invasive plant removal having the highest (92%) and conifer removal the lowest (21%) rates of adoption.
5. Conservation adoption was higher among ranchers who believe they are responsible for conserving nature, believe their land should be used to provide environmental benefits to the region, have higher perceived self-efficacy, lower property rights concerns and higher incomes.
6. Programmes encouraging the adoption of conservation on private lands could benefit from message framing that resonates with the worldviews of landowners and land managers.
Mar 05, 2024
Journal Article
Energetics-based connectivity mapping reveals new conservation opportunities for the endangered tiger in Nepal
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Abstract
Enhancing habitat connectivity is a key strategy for conserving endangered species in anthropogenic landscapes. However, connectivity planning often overlooks the crucial energetic costs to animals of traversing complex terrains. We applied a novel approach for estimating energy costs of movement for tigers – a globally endangered species. We used those estimates to calculate landscape connectivity for these animals across the extreme altitudinal gradient of Nepal, where recent sightings of tigers at higher elevations (~3200 m) suggest an upward range expansion from the tiger-rich lowlands. To evaluate our estimates, we simulated tiger routes to higher-elevation locations and compared modeled energy costs of those ascents to those derived from a previous model calibrated with data from GPS-collared tigers in Russia. In areas below 3200 m, we found about 7.5 times greater land areas with high connectivity outside protected areas (~51 000 km2) than inside (~6800 km2). However, most of the highly connected areas below 3200 m consist of croplands (56%). Importantly, community-managed forests, which spanned the altitudinal gradient, tended to include areas with moderate levels of connectivity. Our estimates of energy costs and those from Russia showed a strong consensus (ρ = 0.70, P < 0.05), with ours better capturing the higher energy costs of traversing mountains and of very large total ascents. Our results show that while barriers to tiger movement across Nepal are ubiquitous, other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), like community-managed forests, can play prominent roles in promoting tiger habitat connectivity while minimizing human–tiger conflict across anthropogenic landscapes. Our results also underscore the utility of integrating first principles of energy efficiency into connectivity analyses and planning.
Mar 05, 2024
Journal Article
Analysis of 20 years of turtle exports from the US reveals mixed effects of CITES and a need for better monitoring
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Abstract
The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) is the primary mechanism for controlling international wildlife trade and preventing overexploitation, but measuring its efficacy is difficult, which complicates management efforts. We examined the effects of CITES listings on the trade of freshwater turtles from the US and compared spatiotemporal trends and dynamics of trade across 16 genera using 20 years of export data, triangulated with mixed qualitative data. For each CITES-listed genus, we analyzed the average changes, immediate changes, and changes in trends of export volumes and spatial diversity of trade. Boom-and-bust trends of exports for different taxa were driven by several factors, including CITES listings, but CITES had mixed effects on export volumes for both Appendix II and III species while the diversity of spatial trade networks consistently declined for CITES and non-CITES listed genera. These results point to differences in demand and species' availability from captive breeders, farms, or wild harvest which are important to consider in future listing decisions. However, a lack of reliable data on the source of turtles limited our ability to understand these drivers as well as the efficacy of CITES listings in preventing overexploitation.
Dec 30, 2024
Journal Article
Carnivores as engines of sustainable development
Jan 04, 2024
Journal Article
Biodiversity monitoring for a just planetary future
Oct 17, 2023
Journal Article
Tradeoffs between resources and risks shape the responses of a large carnivore to human disturbance
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Abstract
Wide-ranging carnivores experience tradeoffs between dynamic resource availabilities and heterogeneous risks from humans, with consequences for their ecological function and conservation outcomes. Yet, research investigating these tradeoffs across large carnivore distributions is rare. We assessed how resource availability and anthropogenic risks influence the strength of lion (Panthera leo) responses to disturbance using data from 31 sites across lions’ contemporary range. Lions avoided human disturbance at over two-thirds of sites, though their responses varied depending on site-level characteristics. Lions were more likely to exploit human-dominated landscapes where resources were limited, indicating that resource limitation can outweigh anthropogenic risks and might exacerbate human-carnivore conflict. Lions also avoided human impacts by increasing their nocturnal activity more often at sites with higher production of cattle. The combined effects of expanding human impacts and environmental change threaten to simultaneously downgrade the ecological function of carnivores and intensify human-carnivore conflicts, escalating extinction risks for many species.
Oct 11, 2023
Journal Article
Navigating the wildland-urban interface: Sensory pollution and infrastructure effects on mule deer behavior and connectivity
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Abstract
Climate and land-use change are modifying the availability of food and water resources, which is driving more wildlife to the wildland-urban interface. For many wildlife populations, use of these areas still requires habitat connectivity both within the interface and/or to wildland habitats. However, navigating these areas can be difficult due to human development and sensory pollutants, such as artificial night light. Determining how these components of urbanization influence the behaviors and functional connectivity of species is important for managing wildlife within these mixed-use landscapes. Here we used a movescape approach based on graph theory to characterize functional uses of the landscape using metrics for behavior, connectivity, and space use intensity. We found that mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; n = 43) functional uses of anthropogenic landscapes in the Intermountain West, USA, were dependent not only on physical barriers, terrain, and sensory factors, but also the local levels of light exposure and vegetative greenness. Remotely sensed artificial light levels had a strong influence on how mule deer used the landscape by reducing the intensity of use in the most illuminated areas given forage availability. In contrast, relatively high local light levels were associated with increased use intensity within less developed areas—highlighting the foraging tradeoffs for species using the wildland-urban interface. Corridor use was reduced in areas where road and housing density were higher, and within-corridor movement was faster when artificial light was high and vegetative greenness was low. Developing a more mechanistic understanding of how species functionally use the landscape in relation to features of urbanization can enhance conservation by delineating areas important for connectivity and foraging, while providing insights into how future development and climate change may alter movement and behavior. Spatially-explicit estimates of functional uses can directly guide management decisions to maintain species resiliency and improve land-use planning.
Sep 10, 2023
Journal Article
Implementation resistance and the human dimensions of connectivity planning
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Abstract
1. Conserving species' ability to traverse the landscape is vital for maintaining biodiversity in the face of global change. Connectivity conservation requires identifying important pathways for species' movements and aligning societal support for conservation of those pathways. Contemporary connectivity analyses emphasize the impacts of topography, vegetation and human footprint on species' movements; but largely ignore the role that attitudes, economics and institutions play in practitioners' ability to conserve those movements.
2. We introduce implementation resistance as an analogue of biophysical resistance that combines social, economic and institutional factors that promote or impede connectivity conservation. We demonstrate the utility of integrating implementation resistance as a means of choosing between competing connectivity conservation strategies using wolves in Colorado (USA) as a case study.
3. Our analysis of five potential corridor locations based on biophysical costs revealed substantial differences in the social costs associated with implementing each corridor despite relatively minimal differences in the biophysical costs.
4. Our comparison of hypothetical interventions to reduce implementation resistance illustrates that interventions that reduce conflicts between land use and wolves may substantially reduce overall resistance, those reductions are not as well aligned with connectivity priorities as those resulting from changes in land management agency policy.
5. Our results highlight the need to design conservation interventions that fit both the social and ecological landscape and provide a framework for developing robust, interdisciplinary methods that facilitate implementable connectivity conservation.
Jun 01, 2023
Journal Article
Social networks of solitary carnivores: The case of endangered tigers and insights on their conservation
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Abstract
Solitary carnivores are an ecologically important taxa and at a high risk of extinction worldwide. Interactions between conspecifics can influence fitness outcomes and may help these animals cope with environmental and anthropogenic disturbances. However, the structure and maintenance of these interactions in solitary carnivore species is underexplored. In this research, we leveraged existing camera trap data on tigers (Panthera tigris)—a globally endangered and solitary carnivore species—in Nepal's Chitwan National Park to examine for the first time their social networks over 8 years (2008–2017). These networks assume that the co-occurrence at camera trap locations represents an association between conspecifics. We found that tiger networks were fickle, remaining stable for about 3 years before dissolving. We also found that males were more likely than females to form bridges between other tigers, and resident tigers were more central in the networks than nonresidents. In addition, interactions between two animals were more frequent if they were of the opposite sex or were both residents. These insights have implications on disease transmission, population dynamics, and human-wildlife conflict. Combined with camera trap monitoring programs, collecting data on the conspecific interactions of solitary carnivores can advance our knowledge of animal ecology and improve conservation planning.
May 24, 2023
Journal Article
Dark roads aid movement but increase mortality of a generalist herbivore in the American Southwest
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Abstract
Road networks pose many well-documented threats to wildlife, from fragmenting habitats and restricting movement to causing mortality through vehicle collisions. For large, wide-ranging mammals, home range requirements and seasonal migrations often necessitate road crossings, posing threats to human safety, property, and animal survival. Artificial nightlight, emanating from light posts and urban sky glow, is ubiquitous on and around road networks worldwide; however, its effects on road crossing behavior and the associated mortality risk for wildlife are not well understood. By integrating the latest NASA nightlight products with GPS collar data collected from 67 mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) over a 7-year period (2012–2018), we used a resource-selection framework to assess factors influencing seasonal crossing behavior and road mortality in Salt Lake City, Utah, an expanding metropolitan area in the United States. We found deer preferred to cross the road where surrounding artificial nightlight was lower in both summer and winter seasons, especially during crepuscular and nighttime periods. However, lower nightlight levels also increased the risk of road mortality. Areas with more shrub cover and lower speed limits increased the likelihood of crossing as well as lowered the risk of road mortality. There were five times as many mortality events in winter as in summer, likely because of the combination of deer preference for dark roads mixed with proximity to both higher speed roads and increased human activity. Better understanding how a pervasive and expanding environmental pollutant like artificial nightlight may attract or repel human-tolerant wildlife species from roadways presents an opportunity to mitigate collision risk while improving population management strategies for this abundant, generalist herbivore and many other economically and ecologically important species.
May 17, 2023
Journal Article
Habitat and climatic associations of climate‐sensitive species along a southern range boundary
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Abstract
Climate change and habitat loss are recognized as important drivers of shifts in wildlife species' geographic distributions. While often considered independently, there is considerable overlap between these drivers, and understanding how they contribute to range shifts can predict future species assemblages and inform effective management. Our objective was to evaluate the impacts of habitat, climatic, and anthropogenic effects on the distributions of climate-sensitive vertebrates along a southern range boundary in Northern Michigan, USA. We combined multiple sources of occurrence data, including harvest and citizen-science data, then used hierarchical Bayesian spatial models to determine habitat and climatic associations for four climate-sensitive vertebrate species (American marten [Martes americana], snowshoe hare [Lepus americanus], ruffed grouse [Bonasa umbellus] and moose [Alces alces]). We used total basal area of at-risk forest types to represent habitat, and temperature and winter habitat indices to represent climate. Marten associated with upland spruce-fir and lowland riparian forest types, hares with lowland conifer and aspen-birch, grouse with lowland riparian hardwoods, and moose with upland spruce-fir. Species differed in climatic drivers with hares positively associated with cooler annual temperatures, moose with cooler summer temperatures and grouse with colder winter temperatures. Contrary to expectations, temperature variables outperformed winter habitat indices. Model performance varied greatly among species, as did predicted distributions along the southern edge of the Northwoods region. As multiple species were associated with lowland riparian and upland spruce-fir habitats, these results provide potential for efficient prioritization of habitat management. Both direct and indirect effects from climate change are likely to impact the distribution of climate-sensitive species in the future and the use of multiple data types and sources in the modelling of species distributions can result in more accurate predictions resulting in improved management at policy-relevant scales.
May 10, 2023
Journal Article
Integrating spaceborne estimates of structural diversity of habitat into wildlife occupancy models
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Abstract
Vegetation structure is a crucial dimension of wildlife habitat, responsive to global changes in human activities and ecosystem processes. NASA’s recent Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) provides an exciting opportunity to explore how spaceborne waveform observations can improve our ability to measure wildlife habitat and advance animal ecology in the Anthropocene. We tested the utility of GEDI data in univariate occupancy models to estimate habitat use in a remote mountain system in central Idaho, USA. We collected data from 49 camera trap stations from two surveys in 2018–2019 and modeled the occupancy for each of seven mammal species representing different trophic levels and feeding strategies: American black bear (Ursus americanus), deer (Odocoileus hemionus), elk (Cervus canadensis), moose (Alces alces), coyote (Canis latrans), wolf (Canis lupus), and mountain lion (Puma concolor). We first derived structural diversity indices (richness, evenness, and divergence) of GEDI-derived canopy height, plant area index, and foliage height diversity to represent different dimensions of vegetation structure. This spatial aggregation is necessary due to gaps in GEDI footprints and parallels commonly used functional diversity metrics applied to biological communities that are calculated using trait probability densities. We measured these indices across three spatial scales that reflect different species movement and habitat selection patterns. We found the structural diversity indices of canopy height, foliage height diversity, and plant area index had the strongest effects on the occupancy of most mammals compared to two-dimensional (2D) variables (e.g. tree cover, normalized difference vegetation index). The spatial extent of these indices also influenced the strength of response, highlighting the importance of selecting a scale large enough to capture sufficient GEDI footprints but small enough to reflect site-level variance. Compared to 2D covariates, our results suggest that GEDI variables allow researchers to generate more detailed inference on the forms of habitat that wildlife use. We discuss the implications of these findings for habitat management and future wildlife research from local to global scales.
Mar 03, 2023
Journal Article
Building a Resilient Coexistence with Wildlife in a More Crowded World
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Abstract
There is an urgent need to sustainably coexist with wildlife. However, realizing this goal is hampered by scant understanding of the processes that facilitate and maintain coexistence. Here, we synthesize human–wildlife interactions into eight archetypal outcomes, from eradication to sustained co-benefits, which collectively serve as a heuristic for forms of coexistence across a wide range of species and systems worldwide. We utilize resilience theory to elucidate how and why human–wildlife systems shift between these archetypes, yielding insights on research and policy priorities. We underscore the importance of governance structures that actively enhance the resilience of coexistence.
Feb 27, 2023
Journal Article
Climate change as a global amplifier of human–wildlife conflict
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Abstract
Climate change and human–wildlife conflict are both pressing challenges for biodiversity conservation and human well-being in the Anthropocene. Climate change is a critical yet underappreciated amplifier of human–wildlife conflict, as it exacerbates resource scarcity, alters human and animal behaviours and distributions, and increases human–wildlife encounters. We synthesize evidence of climate-driven conflicts occurring among ten taxonomic orders, on six continents and in all five oceans. Such conflicts disrupt both subsistence livelihoods and industrial economies and may accelerate the rate at which human–wildlife conflict drives wildlife declines. We introduce a framework describing distinct environmental, ecological and sociopolitical pathways through which climate variability and change percolate via complex social–ecological systems to influence patterns and outcomes of human–wildlife interactions. Identifying these pathways allows for developing mitigation strategies and proactive policies to limit the impacts of human–wildlife conflict on biodiversity conservation and human well-being in a changing climate.
Jan 31, 2023
Journal Article
Media portrayal of the illegal trade in wildlife: The case of turtles in the US and implications for conservation
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Abstract
1. Illegal wildlife trade is a global threat to biodiversity, but its drivers and impacts and ways to combat it vary by taxa. News media framing of instances of illegal trade provides a novel window into understanding public perceptions of these dynamics and potential support for management actions.
2. We used 54 known cases of illegal turtle trade in the United States occurring between 1998 and 2021 as a case study to investigate news media framing of this emergent issue in illegal wildlife trade. We synthesized information from these cases and qualitatively analysed how they were framed in 217 associated news articles.
3. The 54 cases involved the illegal trade of at least 24,000 freshwater turtles of 34 different species; box turtles (Terrapene spp.) were traded the most. Of the known species involved, 23 were listed under one of the CITES Appendices, and 12 were considered threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Trade occurred in at least 43 US states and 6 countries.
4. Despite the multifaceted nature of these cases, problem and solution framing were relatively unvarying. Media coverage framed foreign demand, particularly from Asia for high-value pet turtles, as a main driver of illegal trade. Solutions focused on regulations and enforcement which follows global trends in illegal wildlife trade discourses. However, we also found that articles neutralized illegal turtle trade in several ways, reflecting a lack of perceived legitimacy of and necessity for trade rules and enforcement.
5. Without acknowledging longstanding and formerly legal practices in wildlife trading, conservation efforts which focus on regulations and enforcement may be undermined by a lack of normative compliance.
Jan 23, 2023
Journal Article
Rapid behavioral responses of endangered tigers to major roads during COVID-19 lockdown
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Abstract
Roads pose a major, and growing, challenge for the conservation of endangered species. However, very little is known about how endangered species behaviorally respond to roads and what that means for road mitigation strategies. We used the nation-wide lockdown in Nepal during the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment to investigate how dramatic reductions in traffic volume along the national highway affected movements of two GPS-collared tigers (Panthera tigris)—a globally endangered species. This work is the first systematic research on tigers in Nepal using radiotelemetry or GPS tracking data since the 1980s. We found that the highway more strongly constrained the space use and habitat selection of the male in Parsa National Park than the female in Bardia National Park. Over the entire study period, the female on average crossed 10 times more often per week than the male, and when he was near the highway, he was over 11 times more probable to not cross it than to cross during the day. However, we also found that the cessation of traffic during the pandemic lockdown relaxed tiger avoidance of roads and made the highway more permeable for both animals. They were 2–3 times more probable to cross the highway during the lockdown than before the lockdown. In the month following the lockdown, the space use area of the male tiger tripled in size (160–550 km2), whereas the female’s shrunk to half its previous size (33–15 km2). These divergent patterns likely reflect differences between the two parks in their highway traffic volumes and regulations as well as ecological conditions. Our results provide clear evidence that vehicle traffic on major roads impede tiger movements, but also that tigers can respond quickly to reductions in human pressures. We conclude by identifying various actions to mitigate road impacts on tigers and other endangered species.
May 17, 2022
Journal Article
Forecasting effects of transport infrastructure on endangered tigers: a tool for conservation planning
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Abstract
The rapid development of transport infrastructure is a major threat to endangered species worldwide. Roads and railways can increase animal mortality, fragment habitats, and exacerbate other threats to biodiversity. Predictive models that forecast the future impacts to endangered species can guide land-use planning in ways that proactively reduce the negative effects of transport infrastructure. Agent-based models are well suited for predictive scenario testing, yet their application to endangered species conservation is rare. Here, we developed a spatially explicit, agent-based model to forecast the effects of transport infrastructure on an isolated tiger (Panthera tigris) population in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park—a global biodiversity hotspot. Specifically, our model evaluated the independent and interactive effects of two mechanisms by which transport infrastructure may affect tigers: (a) increasing tiger mortality, e.g., via collisions with vehicles, and (b) depleting prey near infrastructure. We projected potential impacts on tiger population dynamics based on the: (i) existing transportation network in and near the park, and (ii) the inclusion of a proposed railway intersecting through the park’s buffer zone. Our model predicted that existing roads would kill 46 tigers over 20 years via increased mortality, and reduced the adult tiger population by 39% (133 to 81). Adding the proposed railway directly killed 10 more tigers over those 20 years; deaths that reduced the overall tiger population by 30 more individuals (81 to 51). Road-induced mortality also decreased the proportion of time a tiger occupied a given site by 5 years in the 20-year simulation. Interestingly, we found that transportation-induced depletion of prey decreased tiger occupancy by nearly 20% in sites close to roads and the railway, thereby reducing tiger exposure to transportation-induced mortality. The results of our model constitute a strong argument for taking into account prey distributions into the planning of roads and railways. Our model can promote tiger-friendly transportation development, for example, by improving Environmental Impact Assessments, identifying “no go” zones where transport infrastructure should be prohibited, and recommending alternative placement of roads and railways.
Jan 29, 2022
Journal Article
Paths of coexistence: Spatially predicting acceptance of grizzly bears along key movement corridors
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Abstract
Landscape connectivity is important for conserving wildlife in spaces shared with humans. Yet, differences in human attitudes and behaviors within movement corridors can lead to spatial variation in the risks humans pose to wildlife. Mapping the spatial pattern of attitudes toward wildlife provides a useful tool for measuring this variation and promoting connectivity. We surveyed ranchers (n = 505) in the High Divide region in eastern Idaho and western Montana (United States) about their attitudes toward grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) – a species that can pose risks to livestock and human safety. We assessed spatial variation in rancher acceptance of grizzly bears by combining survey and spatial predictors. Ranchers surrounded by more conservation easements and wildland-urban interface reported more positive attitudes toward grizzlies. Ranch size, experience with bears, and off-ranch income sources helped to further explain relationships between predictors and ranchers' acceptance of grizzlies. Our predictive map of acceptance provides spatially explicit information for targeted, pre-emptive conflict mitigation and a baseline for examining spatiotemporal changes in human attitudes as grizzly bear populations expand in the region. Integrating human social factors into spatial connectivity planning may better inform how organizations approach landowners and allow for a more strategic, sustainable approach to connectivity and conservation decision-making.
Dec 15, 2021
Journal Article
Sex-Specific Habitat Suitability Modeling for Panthera tigris in Chitwan National Park, Nepal: Broader Conservation Implications
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Abstract
Although research on wildlife species across taxa has shown that males and females may differentially select habitat, sex-specific habitat suitability models for endangered species are uncommon. We developed sex-specific models for Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) based on camera trapping data collected from 20 January to 22 March 2010 within Chitwan National Park, Nepal, and its buffer zone. We compared these to a sex-indiscriminate habitat suitability model to assess the benefits of a sex-specific approach to habitat suitability modeling. Our sex-specific models produced more informative and detailed habitat suitability maps and highlighted vital differences in the spatial distribution of suitable habitats for males and females, specific associations with different vegetation types, and habitat use near human settlements. Improving and refining habitat models for this and other critically endangered species provides the necessary information to meet established conservation goals and population recovery targets.
Oct 04, 2021
Journal Article
Comparative analysis of illicit supply network structure and operations: cocaine, wildlife, and sand
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Abstract
Illicit supply networks (ISNs) are composed of coordinated human actors that source, transit, and distribute illicitly traded goods to consumers, while also creating widespread social and environmental harms. Despite growing documentation of ISNs and their impacts, efforts to understand and disrupt ISNs remain insufficient due to the persistent lack of knowledge connecting a given ISN’s modus operandi and its patterns of activity in space and time. The core challenge is that the data and knowledge needed to integrate it remain fragmented and/or compartmentalized across disciplines, research groups, and agencies tasked with understanding or monitoring one or a few specific ISNs. One path forward is to conduct comparative analyses of multiple diverse ISNs. We present and apply a conceptual framework for linking ISN modus operandi to spatial-temporal dynamics and patterns of activity. We demonstrate this through a comparative analysis of three ISNs – cocaine, illegally traded wildlife, and illegally mined sand – which range from well-established to emergent, global to domestic in geographic scope, and fully illicit to de facto legal. The proposed framework revealed consistent traits related to geographic price structure, value capture at different supply chain stages, and key differences among ISN structure and operation related to commodity characteristics and their relative illicitness. Despite the diversity of commodities and ISN attributes compared, social and environmental harms inflicted by the illicit activity consistently become more widespread with increasing law enforcement disruption. Drawing on these lessons from diverse ISNs, which varied in their histories and current sophistication, possible changes in the structure and function of nascent and/or low salience ISNs may be anticipated if future conditions or law enforcement pressure change.
Sep 26, 2021
Journal Article
Public health and economic benefits of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in a peri-urban system
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Abstract
1. Species that depend on anthropogenic waste for food can remove pathogens that pose health risks to humans and livestock, thereby saving lives and money. Quantifying these benefits is rare, yet can lead to innovative conservation solutions.
2. To assess these benefits, we examined the feeding ecology and population size of peri-urban spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta in Mekelle, Ethiopia. We integrated these field data into a disease transmission model to predict: (a) the number of anthrax and bovine tuberculosis (bTB) infections arising in humans and livestock from infected carcass waste and (b) the costs associated with treating these infections and losing livestock. We compared these public health and economic outcomes under two scenarios: (a) hyenas are present and (b) the counterfactual, hyenas are absent.
3. We estimated that hyenas annually remove 4.2% (207 tonnes) of the total carcass waste disposed of by residents and businesses in Mekelle. Furthermore, the scavenging behaviour of hyenas annually prevents five infections of anthrax and bTB in humans, and 140 infections in cattle, sheep and goats. This disease control service potentially saves USD 52,165 due to the treatment costs and livestock loss avoided.
4. Synthesis and applications. This human–hyena interaction in Ethiopia is evidence that large carnivores can contribute to human health and economy. To retain these benefits and maintain tolerance of hyenas, we recommend introducing education programmes to promote safe outdoor behaviour around hyenas, training watchdogs to alert residents of hyena presence, constructing bomas to protect livestock from hyena attacks, and preserving the hyenas' access to carcass waste to reduce their dependency on livestock predation. With humans and carnivores coming more frequently into contact, understanding and communicating how these species can benefit humanity will be critical to motivating human–carnivore coexistence worldwide.
Sep 24, 2021
Journal Article
Tragic trade-offs accompany carnivore coexistence in the modern world
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Abstract
Two vital policy aims—biodiversity conservation and food production—are increasingly in conflict. Efforts to evaluate trade-offs between agriculture and conservation have shaped scholarly discourse around two broad strategies to agricultural production that seek to either “share” land with biodiversity or “spare” land from agriculture. However, efforts to negotiate these trade-offs are challenged by rising concern for the welfare of individual animals, both wild and domestic. We use recent efforts to “coexist” with large carnivores to illustrate how sharing and sparing strategies both create tragic, and often unacknowledged trade-offs between livestock production and carnivore conservation. We conclude the best means of conserving carnivores while feeding the world's growing population requires explicitly confronting and adjudicating ethical trade-offs associated with sharing and sparing approaches. To accomplish this, we recommend engaging scholars trained in ethics and social justice and use of deliberative processes to synthesize disparate facts and competing values when evaluating trade-offs.
Jul 17, 2021
Journal Article
Assessing the Vulnerabilities of Vertebrate Species to Light and Noise Pollution: Expert Surveys Illuminate the Impacts on Specialist Species
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Abstract
Global expansion of lighting and noise pollution alters how animals receive and interpret environmental cues. However, we lack a cross-taxon understanding of how animal traits influence species vulnerability to this growing phenomenon. This knowledge is needed to improve the design and implementation of policies that mitigate or reduce sensory pollutants. We present results from an expert knowledge survey that quantified the relative influence of 21 ecological, anatomical, and physiological traits on the vulnerability of terrestrial vertebrates to elevated levels of anthropogenic lighting and noise. We aimed not only to quantify the importance of threats and the relative influence of traits as viewed by sensory and wildlife experts, but to examine knowledge gaps based on the variation in responses. Identifying traits that had less consensus can guide future research for strengthening ecologists’ and conservation biologists’ understanding of sensory abilities. Our findings, based on 280 responses of expert opinion, highlight the increasing recognition among experts that sensory pollutants are important to consider in management and conservation decisions. Participant responses show mounting threats to species with narrow niches; especially habitat specialists, nocturnal species, and those with the greatest ability to differentiate environmental visual and auditory cues. Our results call attention to the threat specialist species face and provide a generalizable understanding of which species require additional considerations when developing conservation policies and mitigation strategies in a world altered by expanding sensory pollutant footprints. We provide a step-by-step example for translating these results to on-the-ground conservation planning using two species as case studies.
Jul 13, 2021
Journal Article
A call for a national collaborative predator coexistence programme
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Abstract
1. Negative interactions between large terrestrial predators and livestock are a global phenomenon. The resultant conflicts can threaten the livelihoods and cultural traditions of those living closest to predator populations and jeopardize the conservation of predator species. These challenges are pronounced in the United States, where predator conservation is at a defining moment.
2. Focusing on the United States, we advocate for policy initiatives at the national scale to incentivize coexistence on multi-use public lands. We discuss how such policies can bolster the efforts of local institutions, facilitate bottom-up collaborations and support science-based programmes. Modelled after other successful collaborative programmes, our proposed programme could facilitate adoption of effective coexistence strategies across large regions that better match the spatial extent of the interface between predators and livestock.
3. A carefully structured, national coexistence programme could harness the already-growing support for living alongside healthy predator populations and fundamentally alter how we approach predator management so that political conflicts are avoided. Moreover, elements of the programme can be transferred to other regions around the world where community engagement is essential to sustaining and coexisting with predators.
Jun 10, 2021
Journal Article
Artificial night light and anthropogenic noise interact to influence bird abundance over a continental scale
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Abstract
The extent of artificial night light and anthropogenic noise (i.e., “light” and “noise”) impacts is global and has the capacity to threaten species across diverse ecosystems. Existing research involving impacts of light or noise has primarily focused on noise or light alone and single species; however, these stimuli often co-occur and little is known about how co-exposure influences wildlife and if and why species may vary in their responses. Here, we had three aims: (1) to investigate species-specific responses to light, noise, and the interaction between the two using a spatially explicit approach to model changes in abundance of 140 prevalent bird species across North America, (2) to investigate responses to the interaction between light exposure and night length, and (3) to identify functional traits and habitat affiliations that explain variation in species-specific responses to these sensory stimuli with phylogenetically informed models. We found species that responded to noise exposure generally decreased in abundance, and the additional presence of light interacted synergistically with noise to exacerbate its negative effects. Moreover, the interaction revealed negative emergent responses for several species that only reacted when light and noise co-occurred. Additionally, an interaction between light and night length revealed 47 species increased in abundance with light exposure during longer nights. In addition to modifying behavior with optimal temperature and potential foraging opportunities, birds might be attracted to light, yet suffer inadvertent physiological consequences. The trait that most strongly related to avian response to light and noise was habitat affiliation. Specifically, species that occupy closed habitat were less tolerant of both sensory stressors compared to those that occupy open habitat. Further quantifying the contexts and intrinsic traits that explain how species respond to noise and light will be fundamental to understanding the ecological consequences of a world that is ever louder and brighter.
Apr 28, 2021
Journal Article
Estimating the loss and fragmentation of dark environments in mammal ranges from light pollution
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Abstract
A hallmark of the Anthropocene is the global expansion of pollution stemming from electric lighting. This evolutionarily novel phenomenon has left few spaces on Earth where natural light cycles remain unaltered. Assessing the exposure of species to light pollution is critical for developing conservation plans that address this expanding sensory pollutant. Here we used data from NASA's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite to determine the contribution of full moonlight radiance to establish an ecologically-informed threshold of natural radiance. Using the geographic ranges of 351 mammals across the contiguous United States, we estimated the percentage of each species' range in which light pollution exceeded thresholds associated with direct emissions and skyglow, where it did not (“dark environment”), and the associated fragmentation of dark environments. Average mammal range contained 2.6% (95% CI: 2.3–3.2%) of area that consistently exceeded full moon radiance at point-source emissions, but with a large range among species (0–47.4%). Skyglow affected far greater percentages of ranges (24.3%; 95% CI: 22.1–26.8%). Nocturnal species had slightly greater exposure than diurnal species. Several families with the most impacted ranges included species of conservation concern (e.g., Molossidae; free-tailed bats). When assessing connectivity of dark environments, we found light pollution fragmented most mammal ranges and resulted in isolated dark refugia (e.g., 154% average increase in patches of dark environments). Identifying species with the greatest exposure to and dark environment fragmentation from light pollution is an important step for targeted conservation efforts of remaining dark refugia for light-sensitive species.
Apr 12, 2021
Journal Article
A machine-learning approach to human footprint index estimation with applications to sustainable development
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Abstract
The human footprint index (HFI) is an extensively used tool for interpreting the accelerating pressure of humanity on Earth. Up to now, the process of creating the HFI has required significant data and modeling, and updated versions of the index often lag the present day by many years. Here we introduce a near-present, global-scale machine learning-based HFI (ml-HFI) which is capable of routine update using satellite imagery alone. We present the most up-to-date map of the HFI, and document changes in human pressure during the past 20 years (2000–2019). Moreover, we demonstrate its utility as a monitoring tool for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG15), ‘Life on Land’, which aims to foster sustainable development while conserving biodiversity. We identify 43 countries that are making progress toward SDG15 while also experiencing increases in their ml-HFI. We examine a subset of these in the context of conservation policies that may or may not enable continued progress toward SDG15. This has immediate policy relevance, since the majority of countries globally are not on track to achieve Goal 15 by the declared deadline of 2030. Moving forward, the ml-HFI may be used for ongoing monitoring and evaluation support toward the twin goals of fostering a thriving society and global Earth system.
Apr 01, 2021
Journal Article
SNAPSHOT USA 2019: a coordinated national camera trap survey of the United States
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Abstract
With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August–24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1,509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian’s eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the United States. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban–wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot-usa, as will future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species-specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication.
Mar 31, 2021
Journal Article
Predation services: quantifying societal effects of predators and their prey
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Abstract
Conservation of predators – especially large carnivores and those that potentially pose threats to humans – can be controversial among stakeholders who must coexist with them. What is often overlooked, however, are the direct and indirect ecosystem services and disservices predators provide as a result of consumption of herbivores (“predation services”). We used a theoretical predator–prey–economic model to examine when predators are likely to provide a net service to society, by comparing services/disservices to a predator-free counterfactual scenario. We found that net predator services were strongly dependent on how per-capita services and disservices of predators and prey changed with abundance (ie assumed marginal value [MV] functions of service/disservice). We suggest that further empirical research is needed into MVs of services/disservices of wildlife, because transferring net services among locations – a common practice – is problematic unless MV functions are known. Rigorously quantifying services/disservices of predators could improve conservation and management outcomes by increasing effective communication to diverse stakeholders.
Mar 09, 2021
Journal Article
Human-wildlife coexistence in science and practice
Oct 18, 2020
Journal Article
Artificial nightlight alters the predator–prey dynamics of an apex carnivore
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Abstract
Artificial nightlight is increasingly recognized as an important environmental disturbance that influences the habitats and fitness of numerous species. However, its effects on wide-ranging vertebrates and their interactions remain unclear. Light pollution has the potential to amplify land-use change, and as such, answering the question of how this sensory stimulant affects behavior and habitat use of species valued for their ecological roles and economic impacts is critical for conservation and land-use planning. Here, we combined satellite-derived estimates of light pollution, with GPS-data from cougars Puma concolor (n = 56), mule deer Odocoileus hemionus (n = 263) and locations of cougar-killed deer (n = 1562 carcasses), to assess the effects of light exposure on mammal behavior and predator–prey relationships across wildland–urban gradients in the southwestern United States. Our results indicate that deer used the anthropogenic environments to access forage and were more active at night than their wildland conspecifics. Despite higher nightlight levels, cougars killed deer at the wildland–urban interface, but hunted them in the relatively darkest locations. Light had the greatest effect of all covariates on where cougars killed deer at the wildland–urban interface. Both species exhibited functional responses to light pollution at fine scales; individual cougars and deer with less light exposure increasingly avoided illuminated areas when exposed to greater radiance, whereas deer living in the wildland–urban interface selected elevated light levels. We conclude that integrating estimates of light pollution into ecological studies provides crucial insights into how the dynamic human footprint can alter animal behavior and ecosystem function across spatial scales.
Oct 05, 2020
Journal Article
Sensory pollutants alter bird phenology and fitness across a continent
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Abstract
Expansion of anthropogenic noise and night lighting across our planet1,2 is of increasing conservation concern3,4,5,6. Despite growing knowledge of physiological and behavioural responses to these stimuli from single-species and local-scale studies, whether these pollutants affect fitness is less clear, as is how and why species vary in their sensitivity to these anthropic stressors. Here we leverage a large citizen science dataset paired with high-resolution noise and light data from across the contiguous United States to assess how these stimuli affect reproductive success in 142 bird species. We find responses to both sensory pollutants linked to the functional traits and habitat affiliations of species. For example, overall nest success was negatively correlated with noise among birds in closed environments. Species-specific changes in reproductive timing and hatching success in response to noise exposure were explained by vocalization frequency, nesting location and diet. Additionally, increased light-gathering ability of species’ eyes was associated with stronger advancements in reproductive timing in response to light exposure, potentially creating phenological mismatches7. Unexpectedly, better light-gathering ability was linked to reduced clutch failure and increased overall nest success in response to light exposure, raising important questions about how responses to sensory pollutants counteract or exacerbate responses to other aspects of global change, such as climate warming. These findings demonstrate that anthropogenic noise and light can substantially affect breeding bird phenology and fitness, and underscore the need to consider sensory pollutants alongside traditional dimensions of the environment that typically inform biodiversity conservation.
Sep 07, 2020
Journal Article
Human adaptation strategies are key to cobenefits in human–wildlife systems
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Abstract
Sustainable development goals such as global food security and biodiversity conservation can conflict because these efforts create situations where humans and wildlife share landscapes, often leading to interactions that detrimentally affect both groups. Therefore, coexistence between humans and wildlife is more likely when adaptation strategies produce and sustain cobenefits, rather than benefitting one group only. However, we lack a good understanding of how different social and ecological factors contribute to cobenefit outcomes, which limits our opportunities to address local issues and scale up successful conservation actions. Here, we performed the first global review of the human–wildlife interaction literature to assess which human adaptation strategies generated cobenefits and how stakeholder involvement and other context-specific conditions mediated those outcomes. We found that active guarding, fencing, repellents, and socioeconomic mechanisms consistently led to cobenefits across species and contexts. Thus, these interventions might be the best candidates for scaling up coexistence from local to regional or national scales. Surprisingly, stakeholder involvement was less consequential than other variables, yet, overall, it played an important role in sustaining cobenefits regardless of adaptation strategy or social–ecological context. We highlight future research directions to help manage tradeoffs and achieve sustainable coexistence outcomes in shared landscapes.
Sep 07, 2020
Journal Article
Artificial night light helps account for observer bias in citizen science monitoring of an expanding large mammal population
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Abstract
1. The integration of citizen scientists into ecological research is transforming how, where, and when data are collected, and expanding the potential scales of ecological studies. Citizen-science projects can provide numerous benefits for participants while educating and connecting professionals with lay audiences, potentially increasing the acceptance of conservation and management actions. However, for all the benefits, collection of citizen-science data is often biased towards areas that are easily accessible (e.g. developments and roadways), and thus data are usually affected by issues typical of opportunistic surveys (e.g. uneven sampling effort). These areas are usually illuminated by artificial light at night (ALAN), a dynamic sensory stimulus that alters the perceptual world for both humans and wildlife.
2. Our goal was to test whether satellite-based measures of ALAN could improve our understanding of the detection process of citizen-scientist-reported sightings of a large mammal.
3. We collected observations of American black bears Ursus americanus (n = 1,315) outside their primary range in Minnesota, USA, as part of a study to gauge population expansion. Participants from the public provided sighting locations of bears on a website. We used an occupancy modelling framework to determine how well ALAN accounted for observer metrics compared to other commonly used metrics (e.g. housing density).
4. Citizen scientists reported 17% of bear sightings were under artificially lit conditions and monthly ALAN estimates did the best job accounting for spatial bias in detection of all observations, based on AIC values and effect sizes (urn:x-wiley:00218790:media:jane13338:jane13338-math-0001 = 0.81, 0.71–0.90 95% CI). Bear detection increased with elevated illuminance; relative abundance was positively associated with natural cover, proximity to primary bear range and lower road density. Although the highest counts of bear sightings occurred in the highly illuminated suburbs of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region, we estimated substantially higher bear abundance in another region with plentiful natural cover and low ALAN (up to ~375% increased predicted relative abundance) where observations were sparse.
5. We demonstrate the importance of considering ALAN radiance when analysing citizen-scientist-collected data, and we highlight the ways that ALAN data provide a dynamic snapshot of human activity.
Jun 27, 2020
Journal Article
Conservation professionals’ views on governing for coexistence with large carnivores
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Abstract
Decision-making about large carnivores is complex and controversial, and processes vary from deliberation and expert analysis to ballot boxes and courtrooms. Decision-makers range from neighboring landowners to the United Nations. Efficacy, longevity and legitimacy of policies may often depend as much on process as the policy itself. Overcoming controversy requires greater understanding of preferences for decision-makers and processes as well as deeper beliefs about human-carnivore interactions. Although academic debates are rich with recommendations for governance, practitioners' perceptions regarding decision-making processes have been rarely examined. Doing so can facilitate constructive discourses on managing and conserving carnivores across highly-variable social-ecological landscapes. To gain insight into different viewpoints on governance regarding large carnivore conservation, we asked a global community of conservation professionals (n = 505) about their preferences for governance alternatives for carnivore conservation through an online survey. Respondents agreed that government biologists should make decisions while legislators and commissions received low agreement and less consensus. Findings also indicated a general rejection of turning decision processes completely over to the general public, to courts, or to politicians who are perceived as lacking both technical knowledge and local insights. We found evidence for consensus on best management processes using a combination of science, local knowledge and participatory decision-making. According to our sample, sustainable coexistence strategies may require significant shifts in processes that remove mistrusted political influences vis-à-vis ballot boxes, courtrooms, commissions and legislative chambers. Our sample believed governance structures that combine technical expertise with local perspectives in a co-management framework may best withstand tests of time and controversy.
May 14, 2020
Journal Article
Emergent conservation outcomes of shared risk perception in human-wildlife systems
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Abstract
Human perception of risks related to economic damages caused by nearby wildlife can be transmitted through social networks. Understanding how sharing risk information within a human community alters the spatial dynamics of human-wildlife interactions has important implications for the design and implementation of effective conservation actions. We developed an agent-based model that simulates farmer livelihood decisions and activities in an agricultural landscape shared with a population of a generic wildlife species (wildlife-human interactions in shared landscapes [WHISL]). In the model, based on risk perception and economic information, farmers decide how much labor to allocate to farming and whether and where to exclude wildlife from their farms (e.g., through fencing, trenches, or vegetation thinning). In scenarios where the risk perception of farmers was strongly influenced by other farmers, exclusion of wildlife was widespread, resulting in decreased quality of wildlife habitat and frequency of wildlife damages across the landscape. When economic losses from encounters with wildlife were high, perception of risk increased and led to highly synchronous behaviors by farmers in space and time. Interactions between wildlife and farmers sometimes led to a spillover effect of wildlife damage displaced from socially and spatially connected communities to less connected neighboring farms. The WHISL model is a useful conservation-planning tool because it provides a test bed for theories and predictions about human-wildlife dynamics across a range of different agricultural landscapes.
Apr 29, 2020
Journal Article
Road development in Asia: range-wide risks to tigers
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Abstract
Roads are proliferating worldwide at an unprecedented rate, with potentially severe impacts on wildlife. We calculated the extent and potential impacts of road networks across the 1,160,000-km2, 13-country range of the globally endangered tiger (Panthera tigris)—a conservation umbrella species. We found that roads were pervasive, totaling 134,000 km across tiger conservation landscapes (TCLs), even in tiger priority sites and protected areas. Approximately 43% of the area where tiger breeding occurs and 57% of the area in TCLs fell within the road-effect zone. Consequently, current road networks may be decreasing tiger and prey abundances by more than 20%. Nearly 24,000 km of new roads will be built in TCLs by 2050, stimulated through major investment projects such as China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Given that roads will be a pervasive challenge to tiger recovery in the future, we urge decision-makers to make sustainable road development a top priority.
Apr 27, 2020
Journal Article
Intraguild dynamics of understudied carnivores in a human-altered landscape
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Abstract
Mesocarnivores constitute a diverse and often abundant group of species, which are increasingly occupying hweigher trophic levels within multi-use landscapes. Yet, we know relatively little about their interactions with each other, especially in human-altered areas. Using camera trap data collected in a forestry concession in the Greater Gorongosa ecosystem of central Mozambique, we examined the spatiotemporal relationships and potential for intraguild competition among three understudied African carnivores: African civets (Civettictis civetta), bushy-tailed mongooses (Bdeogale crassicauda), and large-spotted genets (Genetta maculata). After accounting for habitat preferences and tolerance to anthropogenic factors, we found that African civets and bushy-tailed mongooses avoid each other spatially and temporally. Additionally, civets and mongooses were also both more likely to use sites farther away from human settlements, possibly decreasing the total available habitat for each species if competition is driving this spatial partitioning. In contrast, we did not find evidence for spatial or temporal partitioning between large-spotted genets and African civets, but bushy-tailed mongooses altered their activity patterns where they co-occurred with genets. Our study contributes to scant ecological knowledge of these mesocarnivores and adds to our understanding of community dynamics in human-altered ecosystems.
Apr 06, 2020
Journal Article
Mammal species composition reveals new insights into Earth’s remaining wilderness
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Abstract
Maps of the human footprint allow ecologists to identify the wildest lands on the planet, track their decline, and prioritize wildland conservation efforts. Other research efforts have mapped biological intactness and identified conservation priorities to protect biodiversity. However, little research has involved the use of historical references to evaluate intactness of species composition globally. We used a dataset estimating historical and current distributions of mammals to address whether the wildest places on Earth support the most intact mammal communities. Contrary to our expectations, we found that the global human footprint was not strongly correlated with mammal community intactness and uncovered surprising situations where both the human footprint and mammal species intactness were high, and other examples where both were low. Our results could be used to enhance maps and estimates of global wilderness areas by identifying wild and intact regions, while also prioritizing conservation of intact but human-modified landscapes.
Mar 16, 2020
Journal Article
Why conservation biology can benefit from sensory ecology
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Abstract
Global expansion of human activities is associated with the introduction of novel stimuli, such as anthropogenic noise, artificial lights and chemical agents. Progress in documenting the ecological effects of sensory pollutants is weakened by sparse knowledge of the mechanisms underlying these effects. This severely limits our capacity to devise mitigation measures. Here, we integrate knowledge of animal sensory ecology, physiology and life history to articulate three perceptual mechanisms—masking, distracting and misleading—that clearly explain how and why anthropogenic sensory pollutants impact organisms. We then link these three mechanisms to ecological consequences and discuss their implications for conservation. We argue that this framework can reveal the presence of ‘sensory danger zones’, hotspots of conservation concern where sensory pollutants overlap in space and time with an organism’s activity, and foster development of strategic interventions to mitigate the impact of sensory pollutants. Future research that applies this framework will provide critical insight to preserve the natural sensory world.
Mar 05, 2020
Journal Article
Are We Coexisting with Carnivores in the American West?
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Abstract
Human-carnivore coexistence is an oft-stated goal but assumptions about what constitutes coexistence can lead to goal misalignment and undermine policy and program efficacy. Questions about how to define coexistence remain and specific goals and methods for reaching coexistence require refining. Co-adaptation, where humans adapt to carnivores and vice versa, is a novel socioecological framework for operationalizing coexistence but has yet to be comprehensively examined. We explored co-adaptation and two additional coexistence criteria through analysis of three case studies involving large carnivores in the American West, each addressing differing approaches on how and what it means to coexist with carnivores: Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) in Arizona and New Mexico, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and coyotes (Canis latrans) throughout the American West. We used a multiple case study design that analyzed within and across cases to understand coexistence broadly. For each case, we asked (1) are landscapes shared in space and/or time, (2) is co-adaptation occurring and (3) do stakeholders consider risks tolerable? To identify whether coexistence criteria are met, we investigated peer-reviewed published articles and news media and conducted key informant interviews. We found clear evidence to support land-sharing between humans and coyotes and limited spatial overlap between humans and grizzly bears and Mexican gray wolves. Co-adaptation was variable for wolves, possible with bears and clearly evident with coyotes. Tolerable risk levels are likely achievable for bears and coyotes based on the available literature assessing risk perceptions and tolerance. But disagreement regarding risk management is a driver of conflict over wolves and persistent barrier to achieving coexistence among diverse stakeholders. Patterns in coexistence criteria did not emerge based on taxonomy or geography but may be influenced by body size and behavioral plasticity. The common key to coexistence with each considered carnivore may be in more equitable distribution of costs and benefits among highly diverse stakeholders. Better understanding of these three coexistence criteria and innovative tools to achieve them will improve coexistence capacity with controversial carnivores on public and private lands in diverse American West contexts and beyond.
Jan 30, 2020
Journal Article
Integrated spatial analysis for human-wildlife coexistence in the American West
Dec 06, 2019
Journal Article
Human-carnivore relations: conflicts, tolerance and coexistence in the American West
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Abstract
Carnivore and humans live in proximity due to carnivore recovery efforts and ongoing human encroachment into carnivore habitats globally. The American West is a region that uniquely exemplifies these human-carnivore dynamics, however, it is unclear how the research community here integrates social and ecological factors to examine human-carnivore relations. Therefore, strategies promoting human-carnivore coexistence are urgently needed. We conducted a systematic review on human-carnivore relations in the American West covering studies between 2000 and 2018. We first characterized human-carnivore relations across states of the American West. Second, we analyzed similarities and dissimilarities across states in terms of coexistence, tolerance, number of ecosystem services and conflicts mentioned in literature. Third, we used Bayesian modeling to quantify the effect of social and ecological factors influencing the scientific interest on coexistence, tolerance, ecosystem services and conflicts. Results revealed some underlying biases in human-carnivore relations research. Colorado and Montana were the states where the highest proportion of studies were conducted with bears and wolves the most studied species. Non-lethal management was the most common strategy to mitigate conflicts. Overall, conflicts with carnivores were much more frequently mentioned than benefits. We found similarities among Arizona, California, Utah, and New Mexico according to how coexistence, tolerance, services and conflicts are addressed in literature. We identified percentage of federal/private land, carnivore family, social actors, and management actions, as factors explaining how coexistence, tolerance, conflicts and services are addressed in literature. We provide a roadmap to foster tolerance towards carnivores and successful coexistence strategies in the American West based on four main domains, (1) the dual role of carnivores as providers of both beneficial and detrimental contributions to people, (2) social-ecological factors underpinning the provision of beneficial and detrimental contributions, (3) the inclusion of diverse actors, and (4) cross-state collaborative management.
Nov 06, 2019
Journal Article
The American West as a social-ecological region: Drivers, dynamics and implications for nested social-ecological systems
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Abstract
The American West exists in the popular imagination as a distinct region, and policies and politics often suggest that both the challenges and the opportunities for land management and human well-being across the region are relatively homogeneous. In this paper, we argue that there are key characteristics that define the West as a social-ecological region, and also that there are myriad social-ecological systems (SESs) within the region that require diverse and dynamic approaches to managing change over time. We first conceptualize aridity, topography, and a unique political economy of land as exogenous factors that persist over time and space to define the American West as a contiguous social-ecological region. We then identify a second set of characteristics that show high degrees of variation across SESs within the American West. Finally, we operationalize the relationships between regional characteristics and local dynamics through a set of case studies that exemplify specific types of SESs in the region. The results of these empirical representations of the regional and intra-regional social-ecological dynamics of the contemporary American West highlight the implications for research and management of taking a cross-scale integrated approach to address pressing social-ecological opportunities and challenges in complex adaptive systems.
Oct 25, 2019
Journal Article
Inferring wildlife poaching in southeast Asia with multispecies dynamic occupancy models
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Abstract
Determining the ‘space race’ between co-occurring species is crucial to understand the effects of interspecific interactions on the extinction risk of species threatened by poachers and predators. Dynamic two-species occupancy models provide a flexible framework to decompose complex species interaction patterns, while accounting for imperfect detection. These models can describe poachers–wildlife interactions, as they allow estimating occupancy, extinction and colonisation probabilities of wildlife conditional on the occurrence of poachers and vice versa. We applied our model to a case study on wildlife poaching in the eastern plains of Cambodia. We used co-occurrence data extracted from the database of the SMART partnership to study the distribution dynamics between poachers and six ungulate species pooled together into the tiger prey guild. We used four years of survey data reporting the locations of snares and of presence signs of the ungulates recorded by rangers during their monthly multi-patrolling sessions. Our results showed that a substantial proportion of the sites occupied by ungulate species went extinct over the years of the study while the proportion of sites colonised by poachers increased. We also showed, for the first time, that spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the patrolling effort explains a great deal of the variation in the detection of poachers and ungulates. Our approach provides practitioners with a flexible and robust tool to assess conservation status of species and extinction risk of wildlife populations. It can assist managers in better evaluating, learning and adapting the patrolling strategies of rangers.
Sep 08, 2019
Journal Article
Effects of human-induced prey depletion on large carnivores in protected areas: lessons from modelling tiger populations in stylized spatial scenarios
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Abstract
Prey depletion is a major threat to the conservation of large carnivore species globally. However, at the policy-relevant scale of protected areas, we know little about how the spatial distribution of prey depletion affects carnivore space use and population persistence. We developed a spatially explicit, agent-based model to investigate the effects of different human-induced prey depletion experiments on the globally endangered tiger (Panthera tigris) in isolated protected areas—a situation that prevails throughout the tiger's range. Specifically, we generated 120 experiments that varied the spatial extent and intensity of prey depletion across a stylized (circle) landscape (1,000 km2) and Nepal's Chitwan National Park (~1,239 km2). Experiments that created more spatially homogenous prey distributions (i.e., less prey removed per cell but over larger areas) resulted in larger tiger territories and smaller population sizes over time. Counterintuitively, we found that depleting prey along the edge of Chitwan National Park, while decreasing tiger numbers overall, also decreased female competition for those areas, leading to lower rates of female starvation. Overall our results suggest that subtle differences in the spatial distributions of prey densities created by various human activities, such as natural resource-use patterns, urban growth and infrastructure development, or conservation spatial zoning might have unintended, detrimental effects on carnivore populations. Our model is a useful planning tool as it incorporates information on animal behavioral ecology, resource spatial distribution, and the drivers of change to those resources, such as human activities.
Apr 07, 2019
Journal Article
Designing spatiotemporal multifunctional landscapes to support dynamic wildlife conservation
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Abstract
With a growing human population, we are faced with the challenge of managing limited spaces for multiple social and environmental needs. Identifying opportunities to align social and environmental needs is thus a transdisciplinary design challenge. To meet this task, we present the concept of spatiotemporal multifunctionality (i.e. the provisioning of more than one human or environmental function in a given place at different times) and demonstrate how integrating principles of landscape ecology, social-ecological systems, and land system architecture enables a dynamic approach to landscape design and planning. Such an integration is capable of providing conservation tools for diverse social-ecological systems to maximize spatiotemporal multifunctionality. We use migratory birds as a working example to present a dynamic conservation opportunity and related challenges. By adding a temporal component to land-use classification in areas of high human use, we demonstrate the potential to enhance land-system sustainability and promote human-wildlife coexistence in a changing world.
Feb 18, 2019
Journal Article
Opportunities for biodiversity conservation outside of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique: A multispecies approach
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Abstract
Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten wildlife and ecosystems across the globe, especially in multi-use landscapes outside of protected areas, which are ubiquitous. Amid rapid land-use changes in Africa especially, managers need tools to prioritize conservation efforts outside of protected areas. We studied how human activities affect the distribution and composition of a medium-to-large sized mammalian community with various habitat requirements in a sustainable-use forestry concession in central Mozambique. We deployed 75 motion-detecting cameras from June to October 2017, and photographed 30 mammalian species. We used hierarchical, multi-species occupancy models to estimate species richness at each station and compared the relative effects of natural and anthropogenic features on the presence of individual species and groups of species when categorized into taxonomic/functional groups and body size groups. Predicted richness at each station varied from 3 to 17 species, and both human and natural parameters varied in their importance for the occupancy likelihood for different animals. When species were grouped by taxonomies and diets, settlement proximity negatively affected the occupancies of carnivores, insectivores, and other foragers. Similarly, settlement proximity negatively affected the occupancies of species in all body size groups. However, active roads and human activity rates did not have a statistically significant relationship with any species' occupancies or detection rates, respectively. Overall, mammalian richness was highest far from human settlements in the concession and close to rivers. Building on scant knowledge of wildlife communities across mosaics of different land uses, our results shed light on understudied species assemblages to guide conservation efforts in Mozambique.
Dec 19, 2018
Journal Article
The ethics of eradicating harmful species – the case of the tsetse fly
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Abstract
Wildlife species harmful to humans are often targets of control and elimination programs. A contemporary example is the tsetse fly, a vector of sleeping sickness and African animal trypanosomosis. Tsetse flies have recently been targeted by a pan-African eradication campaign. If it is successful, the campaign could push the entire tsetse family to extinction. With the emergence of effective and efficient elimination technologies, ethical assessment of proposed elimination campaigns is urgently needed. We examine the ethics of tsetse fly elimination by considering arguments predicated on both the instrumental and the intrinsic values of the species at local and global scales. We conclude that, although global eradication of tsetse flies is not ethically justified, localized elimination campaigns targeting isolated populations are ethically defensible. We urge assessments of this kind be conducted regularly and in context, so that all relevant factors underlying decisions on species elimination are routinely laid bare for evaluation.
Dec 06, 2018
Journal Article
Preparing the next generation of sustainability scientists
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Abstract
Graduate programs emerging in universities over recent decades support the advanced study of sustainability issues in complex socio-environmental systems. Constructing the problem-scope to address these issues requires graduate students to integrate across disciplines and synthesize the social and natural dimensions of sustainability. Graduate programs that are designed to foster inter- and transdisciplinary research acknowledge the importance of training students to use integrative research approaches. However, this training is not available in all graduate programs that support integrative research, often requiring students to seek external training opportunities. We present perspectives from a group of doctoral students with diverse disciplinary backgrounds conducting integrative research in universities across the United States who participated in a 10-day, National Science Foundation-funded integrative research training workshop to learn and develop socio-environmental research skills. Following the workshop, students conducted a collaborative autoethnographic study to share pre- and postworkshop research experiences and discuss ways to increase integrative research training opportunities. Results reveal that students, regardless of disciplinary background, face common barriers conducting integrative research that include: (1) lack of exposure to epistemological frameworks and team-science skills, (2) challenges to effectively include stakeholder perspectives in his/her research, and (3) variable levels of committee support to conduct integrative research. To overcome the identified barriers and advance integrative research, students recommend how training opportunities can be embedded within existing graduate programs. Students advocate that both internal and external training opportunities are necessary to support the next generation of sustainability scientists.
Oct 23, 2018
Journal Article
Governing trade-offs in ecosystem services and disservices to achieve human-wildlife coexistence
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Abstract
Sustaining wildlife populations, which provide both ecosystem services and disservices, represents a worldwide conservation challenge. The ecosystem services and Ostrom's social–ecological systems frameworks have been adopted across natural and social sciences to characterize benefits from nature. Despite their generalizability, individually they do not include explicit tools for addressing the sustainable management of many wildlife populations. For instance, Ostrom's framework does not specifically address competing perspectives on wildlife, whereas the ecosystem services framework provides a limited representation of the social and governance context wherein such competing perspectives are embedded. We developed a unified social–ecological framework of ecosystem disservices and services (SEEDS) that advances both frameworks by explicitly acknowledging the importance of competing wildlife perspectives embedded in the social and governance contexts. The SEEDS framework emulates the hierarchical structure of Ostrom's social–ecological systems, but adds subsystems reflecting heterogeneous stakeholder views and experiences of wildlife-based services and disservices. To facilitate operationalizing SEEDS and further broader analyses across human–wildlife systems, we devised a list of variables to describe SEEDS subsystems, such as types and level of services and disservices, cost and benefit sharing, and social participation of stakeholders. Steps to implement SEEDS involve engaging local communities and stakeholders to define the subsystems, analyze interactions and outcomes, and identify leverage points and actions to remedy unwanted outcomes. These steps connect SEEDS with other existing approaches in social–ecological research and can guide analyses across systems or within individual systems to provide new insights and management options for sustainable human–wildlife coexistence.
Sep 26, 2018
Journal Article
Tracking a half-century of media reporting on gray wolves
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Abstract
Natural resource and wildlife managers must balance the disparate priorities of a diversity of stakeholders. To manage these priorities, a firm understanding of topics salient to the public is needed. The media often report on issues of importance to the public; therefore, these reports may be a useful measure of public interest. However, efficient methods for distinguishing diverse topics related to a wildlife management issue reported in the media and changes in the salience of those topics have been lacking. We used latent Dirichlet allocation, a Bayesian mixture model, to quantitatively assess the salience of topics surrounding the gray wolf (Canis lupus), which was reintroduced to Idaho (U.S.A.) in 1995. We analyzed articles published from 1960 to 2015 in an Idaho newspaper. We identified 6 distinct topics associated with gray wolves: policy, hunting, biological status, implementation of management, recovery, and human-wolf conflict. The salience of topics pre- and postreintroduction of wolves (1995) and pre- and postdelisting of wolves from the U.S. Endangered Species Act (2009) differed significantly, underscoring that these events were turning points in how issues were being publicly discussed and framed. Articles written by the local reporters were more likely to report on topics regarding conflict between humans and wolves, whereas articles sourced from a national outlet reported more on topics pertaining to wolf policy and biological status. In the context of managing a contentious, far-ranging, and long-lived wildlife species, our methods can help guide the location and timing of a suite of management strategies (e.g., media relation plans and stakeholder engagement) that promote human-wildlife coexistence across different landscapes.
Sep 22, 2018
Journal Article
Post-war recovery of the African lion in response to large-scale ecosystem restoration
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Abstract
We present data from the first, long-term study underway of a recovering population of indigenous, free-ranging Panthera leo in Gorongosa National Park (GNP), Mozambique. GNP is undergoing post-war recovery and large-scale ecological restoration under a 25-year private-governmental partnership – the “Gorongosa Project (GP),” – offering a rare opportunity to elucidate the long-term recovery dynamics of a population of lion in response to strategic conservation interventions. GNP forms a core part of the greater Gorongosa-Marromeu Lion Conservation Unit which is designated as a “potential lion stronghold.” Within the Park we established an intensive study area of 1100 km2 encompassing prime areas of herbivore productivity. Between 2012 and 2016, 104 lions were documented and 6 prides and 7 males or coalitions in our study area were satellite-collared and intensively monitored. We describe seasonal male and female home-ranges, prey utilization, estimated versus predicted lion densities in relation to recovering herbivore biomass, and anthropogenic factors limiting the population's full recovery potential. The dominant factor observed to be negatively impacting the population was top-down and anthropogenic in the form of by-catch by wire snares and steel-jaw traps set by bushmeat hunters. These findings have since resulted in tangible and measurable interventions to reduce these impacts and resultant future datasets will elucidate detailed demography and how management interventions impacted the trajectory of large-carnivore recovery.
Sep 11, 2018
Journal Article
Achieving the promise of integration in social-ecological research: a review and prospectus
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Abstract
An integrated understanding of both social and ecological aspects of environmental issues is essential to address pressing sustainability challenges. An integrated social-ecological systems perspective is purported to provide a better understanding of the complex relationships between humans and nature. Despite a threefold increase in the amount of social-ecological research published between 2010 and 2015, it is unclear whether these approaches have been truly integrative. We conducted a systematic literature review to investigate the conceptual, methodological, disciplinary, and functional aspects of social-ecological integration. In general, we found that overall integration is still lacking in social-ecological research. Some social variables deemed important for addressing sustainability challenges are underrepresented in social-ecological studies, e.g., culture, politics, and power. Disciplines such as ecology, urban studies, and geography are better integrated than others, e.g., sociology, biology, and public administration. In addition to ecology and urban studies, biodiversity conservation plays a key brokerage role in integrating other disciplines into social-ecological research. Studies founded on systems theory have the highest rates of integration. Highly integrative studies combine different types of tools, involve stakeholders at appropriate stages, and tend to deliver practical recommendations. Better social-ecological integration must underpin sustainability science. To achieve this potential, future social-ecological research will require greater attention to the following: the interdisciplinary composition of project teams, strategic stakeholder involvement, application of multiple tools, incorporation of both social and ecological variables, consideration of bidirectional relationships between variables, and identification of implications and articulation of clear policy recommendations.
Jun 15, 2018
Journal Article
The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality
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Abstract
Rapid expansion of human activity has driven well-documented shifts in the spatial distribution of wildlife, but the cumulative effect of human disturbance on the temporal dynamics of animals has not been quantified. We examined anthropogenic effects on mammal diel activity patterns, conducting a meta-analysis of 76 studies of 62 species from six continents. Our global study revealed a strong effect of humans on daily patterns of wildlife activity. Animals increased their nocturnality by an average factor of 1.36 in response to human disturbance. This finding was consistent across continents, habitats, taxa, and human activities. As the global human footprint expands, temporal avoidance of humans may facilitate human-wildlife coexistence. However, such responses can result in marked shifts away from natural patterns of activity, with consequences for fitness, population persistence, community interactions, and evolution.
Feb 28, 2018
Journal Article
Climate change, disease range shifts, and the future of the Africa lion. Conservation Biology
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Abstract
Understanding causes and consequences of disease range shifts can help mitigate negative effects of such shifts on lions and other wildlife.
Jan 18, 2018
Journal Article
The contribution of predators and scavengers to human health and well-being
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Abstract
Predators and scavengers are frequently persecuted for their negative effects on property, livestock and human life. Research has shown that these species play important regulatory roles in intact ecosystems including regulating herbivore and mesopredator populations that in turn affect floral, soil and hydrological systems. Yet predators and scavengers receive surprisingly little recognition for their benefits to humans in the landscapes they share. We review these benefits, highlighting the most recent studies that have documented their positive effects across a range of environments. Indeed, the benefits of predators and scavengers can be far reaching, affecting human health and well-being through disease mitigation, agricultural production and waste-disposal services. As many predators and scavengers are in a state of rapid decline, we argue that researchers must work in concert with the media, managers and policymakers to highlight benefits of these species and the need to ensure their long-term conservation. Furthermore, instead of assessing the costs of predators and scavengers only in economic terms, it is critical to recognize their beneficial contributions to human health and well-being. Given the ever-expanding human footprint, it is essential that we construct conservation solutions that allow a wide variety of species to persist in shared landscapes. Identifying, evaluating and communicating the benefits provided by species that are often considered problem animals is an important step for establishing tolerance in these shared spaces.
Jan 03, 2018
Journal Article
Conservation professionals agree on challenges to coexisting with large carnivores but not on solutions
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Abstract
Although many studies explore characteristics of stakeholders or publics “for” or “against” large carnivores, disagreements among conservation professionals advocating different conservation strategies also occur, but are not well recognized. Differing viewpoints on whether and how humans can share landscapes with large carnivores can influence conservation policies. To characterize current viewpoints about terrestrial large carnivore conservation, we conducted an online survey assessing a wide range of viewpoints about large carnivore conservation among international professionals (n = 505). We explored how variation in viewpoints was related to expertise, background, and broader institutional contexts in which one lives and works. The majority of participants agreed people and large carnivores can share the same landscapes (86%). Human adaptation to carnivores (95% agreement) and acceptance of some conflict (93%) were the highest ranked requirements for human-carnivore coexistence. We found broad consensus regarding intrinsic value of carnivores, reasons carnivores are imperilled, conflict drivers, and importance of proactive solutions, such as adopting preventative livestock husbandry methods or avoiding situations that put people at risk. The greatest polarization was observed in issues related to lethal control, where we only found broad consensus for killing carnivores in situations where humans are in immediate risk. Participants opposed the killing of large carnivores when objectives were to decrease population sizes or increase human tolerance, profits, livelihoods, or fear of humans. Results point to considerable diversity, perhaps driven by local context, concerning how to proceed with large carnivore conservation in the increasingly human-influenced landscapes of the Anthropocene. The different observed viewpoints represent both different strategies about how to best conserve, but also different moral platforms about what, how, where, and for whom conservation should occur. Our study underlines that challenges to adopting and implementing long-lasting carnivore conservation strategies may well occur as much within the conservation community as outside it.
May 24, 2017
Journal Article
Modernization, risk and conservation of the world’s largest carnivores
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Abstract
Large carnivores are threatened worldwide by a variety of human-driven factors, including persecution, which regularly results when they come into conflict with people. Although human activities are almost universally viewed as negatively affecting carnivore conservation, we contend that conservation outcomes for carnivores are improved when social and economic forces reduce the risks associated with these species and facilitate the acquisition of values favorable to their conservation. We make three specific propositions: (1) Societal tolerance for carnivores is affected by the distribution of risks and benefits associated with these species, (2) modernization and its associated social changes reduce the risks associated with large carnivores and their conservation, and (3) modernization induces lasting effects on conservation by changing societal values. We review existing evidence and present cross-sectional data showing that variation among nations in large carnivore conservation outcomes are related to three facets of modernization believed to reduce the risks associated with large carnivores.
Dec 06, 2016
Journal Article
Evolution and complexity in biotic systems and human cultures. Review of Book “Complexity”
Nov 16, 2016
Journal Article
A conceptual framework for understanding illegal killing of large carnivores
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Abstract
The growing complexity and global nature of wildlife poaching threaten the survival of many species worldwide and are outpacing conservation efforts. Here, we reviewed proximal and distal factors, both social and ecological, driving illegal killing or poaching of large carnivores at sites where it can potentially occur. Through this review, we developed a conceptual social–ecological system framework that ties together many of the factors influencing large carnivore poaching. Unlike most conservation action models, an important attribute of our framework is the integration of multiple factors related to both human motivations and animal vulnerability into feedbacks. We apply our framework to two case studies, tigers in Laos and wolverines in northern Sweden, to demonstrate its utility in disentangling some of the complex features of carnivore poaching that may have hindered effective responses to the current poaching crisis. Our framework offers a common platform to help guide future research on wildlife poaching feedbacks, which has hitherto been lacking, in order to effectively inform policy making and enforcement.
Aug 29, 2016
Journal Article
Gendered perceptions of tigers in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
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Abstract
The survival of many populations of threatened mammals depends on the willingness of human communities to coexist with them. Gender is an important factor because men and women often have different perceptions of wildlife that influence their willingness to coexist with wildlife. While previous studies have hypothesized what may drive gendered perceptions of wildlife, research investigating the underlying drivers of these differences is lacking, especially in developing countries. The objective of this paper is to identify the underlying drivers of gendered differences in attitude toward globally endangered tigers (Panthera tigris) in Chitwan National Park (CNP), Nepal, where women are less likely to have a positive attitude. To accomplish this, we administered a social survey to 499 respondents living near the park. We analyzed survey data using nested linear regression models and decomposition analysis. Over 90% of the gender gap in attitude was explained through these analyses, with beliefs about tigers (e.g., benefits and costs) explaining two-thirds of the gap. The belief that tigers contribute to a healthy forest, by itself, accounted for one-third of the gender gap. Socio-economic characteristics explained 12% and experiences with tigers and perceptions of and control over risk each accounted for 6% or less of the gender gap. These results suggest that beliefs, rather than socio-economics, experience, or risk, underlie the majority of the gendered differences in attitudes toward tigers in CNP and that an appreciation of the ecosystem value of tigers plays a key role in people's positive attitudes. Analyses of gendered differences in attitudes are important for developing conservation interventions that address perspectives and issues of the entire population.
Jan 13, 2016
Journal Article
Towards human-carnivore coexistence: understanding tolerance for tigers in Bangladesh
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Abstract
Fostering local community tolerance for endangered carnivores, such as tigers (Panthera tigris), is a core component of many conservation strategies. Identification of antecedents of tolerance will facilitate the development of effective tolerance-building conservation action and secure local community support for, and involvement in, conservation initiatives. We use a stated preference approach for measuring tolerance, based on the ‘Wildlife Stakeholder Acceptance Capacity’ concept, to explore villagers’ tolerance levels for tigers in the Bangladesh Sundarbans, an area where, at the time of the research, human-tiger conflict was severe. We apply structural equation modeling to test an a priori defined theoretical model of tolerance and identify the experiential and psychological basis of tolerance in this community. Our results indicate that beliefs about tigers and about the perceived current tiger population trend are predictors of tolerance for tigers. Positive beliefs about tigers and a belief that the tiger population is not currently increasing are both associated with greater stated tolerance for the species. Contrary to commonly-held notions, negative experiences with tigers do not directly affect tolerance levels; instead, their effect is mediated by villagers’ beliefs about tigers and risk perceptions concerning human-tiger conflict incidents. These findings highlight a need to explore and understand the socio-psychological factors that encourage tolerance towards endangered species. Our research also demonstrates the applicability of this approach to tolerance research to a wide range of socio-economic and cultural contexts and reveals its capacity to enhance carnivore conservation efforts worldwide.
Sep 13, 2016
Journal Article
Mainstreaming Coexistence with Wildlife: Reply to Gallagher
Jul 01, 2016
Journal Article
Co-adaptation is key to coexisting with large carnivores
Jun 24, 2015
Journal Article
Modeling tiger population and territory dynamics using an agent-based approach
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Abstract
Effective conservation planning of globally endangered tigers (Panthera tigris) requires a good understanding of their population dynamics. Territoriality, an essential characteristic of many wildlife species, plays a crucial role in the population dynamics of tigers. However, previous models of tiger population dynamics have not adequately incorporated territoriality. We therefore developed and implemented a spatially explicit agent-based model of tiger population dynamics shaped by different territorial behaviors of males and females. To allow for predictions to new conditions, for which no data exist, territories are not imposed but emerge from the tigers’ perception of habitat quality and from their interactions with each other. Tiger population dynamics is deduced from merging territory dynamics with observed demographic rates. We apply the model to Nepal's Chitwan National Park, part of a global biodiversity hotspot and home to a large (∼125) population of tigers. Our model matched closely with observed patterns of the real tiger population in the park, including reproduction, mortality, dispersal, resource selection, male and female land tenure, territory size and spatial distribution, and tiger population size and age structure. The ultimate purpose of the model, which will be presented in follow-up work, is to explore human-tiger interactions and assess threats to tiger populations across contexts and scales. The model can thus be used to better inform decision makers on how to conserve tigers under uncertain and changing future conditions.
Sep 12, 2015
Journal Article
Cross-site synthesis of complexity in coupled human and natural systems, in: Liu, J., Hull, V., Yang, W., Viña, A., Ouyang, Z., and Zhang, H. (Eds.), Pandas and People: Coupling Human and Natural Systems for Sustainability
Nov 26, 2014
Journal Article
Impacts of people and tigers on leopard spatiotemporal activity patterns in a global biodiversity hotspot
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Abstract
Leopard population declines largely occur in areas where leopards and people frequently interact. Research on how leopards respond to human presence and competitors, like other predators, can provide important insights on leopard ecology and conservation in human-dominated regions; however, such research is lacking. Here we used data from field cameras in 2010 and 2011 to examine how human presence, prey, and tigers influence leopard spatiotemporal activity patterns in and around Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, part of a global biodiversity hotspot. We found that leopards were adjusting their spatiotemporal activity patterns to both tigers and people, but by different mechanisms. Leopards spatially avoided tigers in 2010, but were generally active at the same times of day that tigers were. Despite pervasive human presence, people on foot and vehicles had no significant effect on leopard detection and space use, but leopard temporal activity was displaced from those periods of time with highest human activity. Temporal displacement from humans was especially pronounced outside the park, where there is a much greater prevalence of natural resource collection by local people. Continuing to evaluate the interconnections among leopards, tigers, prey, and people across different land management regimes is needed to develop robust landscape-scale conservation strategies.
Sep 12, 2014
Journal Article
Coupled human and natural systems approach to wildlife research and conservation
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Abstract
Conserving wildlife while simultaneously meeting the resource needs of a growing human population is a major sustainability challenge. As such, using combined social and environmental perspectives to understand how people and wildlife are interlinked, together with the mechanisms that may weaken or strengthen those linkages, is of utmost importance. However, such integrated information is lacking. To help fill this information gap, we describe an integrated coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) approach for analyzing the patterns, causes, and consequences of changes in wildlife population and habitat, human population and land use, and their interactions. Using this approach, we synthesize research in two sites, Wolong Nature Reserve in China and Chitwan National Park in Nepal, to explicate key relationships between people and two globally endangered wildlife conservation icons, the giant panda and the Bengal tiger. This synthesis reveals that local resident characteristics such as household socioeconomics and demography, as well as community-level attributes such as resource management organizations, affect wildlife and their habitats in complex and even countervailing ways. Human impacts on wildlife and their habitats are in turn modifying the suite of ecosystem services that they provide to local residents in both sites, including access to forest products and cultural values. These interactions are further complicated by human and natural disturbance (e.g., civil wars, earthquakes), feedbacks (including policies), and telecouplings (socioeconomic and environmental interactions over distances) that increasingly link the focal systems with other distant systems. We highlight several important implications of using a CHANS approach for wildlife research and conservation that is useful not only in China and Nepal but in many other places around the world facing similar challenges.
Oct 18, 2013
Journal Article
Assessing spatiotemporal changes in tiger habitat across different land management regimes
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Abstract
Human-induced habitat loss and degradation are increasing the extinction probability of many wildlife species worldwide, thus protecting habitat is crucial. The habitat of thousands of imperiled wildlife species occurs in a variety of land management regimes (e.g., protected areas, multiple-use areas), each exerting differing effects. We used the globally endangered tiger (Panthera tigris) to examine the relationships between habitat change and land management in Nepal's Chitwan district, a global biodiversity hotspot. We evaluated the effects of environmental and human factors on tiger habitat based on data acquired by motion-detecting cameras and space-borne imaging sensors. Spatiotemporal habitat dynamics in Chitwan National Park and a multiple-use area outside the park were then evaluated in three time periods (1989, 1999, and 2009). Our results indicate that tigers preferred areas with more grasslands and higher landscape connectivity. The area of highly suitable habitat decreased inside the park over the entire 20 year interval, while outside the park habitat suitability increased, especially from 1999 to 2009. The loss of highly suitable habitat inside the park may be associated with an increasing trend of unauthorized resource extraction by a rapidly growing human population, coupled with natural processes such as flooding and forest succession. In contrast, community-based management of natural resources and the prohibition of livestock grazing since the late 1990s likely improved tiger habitat suitability outside the park. Results of this study are useful for evaluating habitat change and guiding conservation actions across the tiger range, which spans 13 countries. Moreover, quantitatively assessing habitat change across different land management regimes in human-dominated areas provides insights for conserving habitat of other imperiled wildlife species around the world.
Jul 09, 2013
Journal Article
Spatial assessment of attitudes toward tigers in Nepal
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Abstract
In many regions around the world, wildlife impacts on people (e.g., crop raiding, attacks on people) engender negative attitudes toward wildlife. Negative attitudes predict behaviors that undermine wildlife management and conservation efforts (e.g., by exacerbating retaliatory killing of wildlife). Our study (1) evaluated attitudes of local people toward the globally endangered tiger (Panthera tigris) in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park; and (2) modeled and mapped spatial clusters of attitudes toward tigers. Factors characterizing a person’s position in society (i.e., socioeconomic and cultural factors) influenced attitudes toward tigers more than past experiences with tigers (e.g., livestock attacks). A spatial cluster of negative attitudes toward tigers was associated with concentrations of people with less formal education, people from marginalized ethnic groups, and tiger attacks on people. Our study provides insights and descriptions of techniques to improve attitudes toward wildlife in Chitwan and many regions around the world with similar conservation challenges.
Jan 02, 2013
Journal Article
Reply to Goswami et al., Karanth et al., and Harihar et al.: Fine-scale interactions between tigers and people
Sep 18, 2012
Journal Article
Coexistence between wildlife and humans at fine spatial scales
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Abstract
Many wildlife species face imminent extinction because of human impacts, and therefore, a prevailing belief is that some wildlife species, particularly large carnivores and ungulates, cannot coexist with people at fine spatial scales (i.e., cannot regularly use the exact same point locations). This belief provides rationale for various conservation programs, such as resettling human communities outside protected areas. However, quantitative information on the capacity and mechanisms for wildlife to coexist with humans at fine spatial scales is scarce. Such information is vital, because the world is becoming increasingly crowded. Here, we provide empirical information about the capacity and mechanisms for tigers (a globally endangered species) to coexist with humans at fine spatial scales inside and outside Nepal's Chitwan National Park, a flagship protected area for imperiled wildlife. Information obtained from field cameras in 2010 and 2011 indicated that human presence (i.e., people on foot and vehicles) was ubiquitous and abundant throughout the study site; however, tiger density was also high. Surprisingly, even at a fine spatial scale (i.e., camera locations), tigers spatially overlapped with people on foot and vehicles in both years. However, in both years, tigers offset their temporal activity patterns to be much less active during the day when human activity peaked. In addition to temporal displacement, tiger-human coexistence was likely enhanced by abundant tiger prey and low levels of tiger poaching. Incorporating fine-scale spatial and temporal activity patterns into conservation plans can help address a major global challenge-meeting human needs while sustaining wildlife.
Jul 31, 2012
Journal Article
Utility of a psychological framework for carnivore conservation
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Abstract
Conserving threatened carnivore species increasingly depends on the capacity of local people to cohabit with those species. To examine such capacity we developed a novel psychological framework for conservation in regions of the world where there are human–carnivore conflicts, and used the Endangered tiger Panthera tigris to explore the utility of this framework. Specifically, we tested three hypotheses in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, where increasing human–tiger conflicts potentially jeopardize long-term coexistence. We administered a survey to 499 individuals living < 2 km from the Park and in nearby multiple-use forest, to record preferred future tiger population size and factors that may influence preferences, including past interactions with tigers (e.g. livestock predation) and beliefs and perceptions about tigers. Over 17% of respondents reported that a tiger had attacked their livestock or threatened them directly. Results from a structural equation model indicated that respondents who preferred fewer tigers in the future were less likely to associate tigers with beneficial attributes, more likely to associate tigers with undesirable attributes, and more likely to believe that government officials poorly manage tiger-related risks and that people are vulnerable to risks from tigers. Our framework can help address current and future conservation challenges because it (1) integrates an expansive and generalized set of psychological concepts, (2) enables the identification of conservation interventions that foster coexistence between people and carnivores, and (3) is suitable for broad application.
Jan 01, 2010
Journal Article
American black bear habitat selection in northern Lower Peninsula, Michigan, USA, using discrete-choice modeling
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Abstract
Since 1990, increases in American black bear (Ursus americanus) population and distribution in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, USA, have led to positive trends in black bear harvests, sightings, and nuisance reports. Policy makers and wildlife managers can prepare for the difficult task of managing future bear–human interactions by using resource selection models to assess bear habitat selection and predict future bear range expansion. We modeled habitat selection by black bears in the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan using 6 environmental variables based on radiotelemetry locations from 1991–2000 for 20 males and 35 females. We developed Bayesian random effects discrete-choice models for males and females separately to estimate probability of bear selection of grid cells at 3 spatial resolutions (1 km2, 4 km2, 9 km2). These models weight individual bears and their relocations, allowing inference about both individual and population-level selection characteristics. We assessed goodness-of-fit of individual models using a Bayesian P value that estimated deviance between a simulated dataset and the observed dataset. Models for males at the 9-km2 resolution and for females at 4-km2 resolution fit our data better than others; both indicated that locations of bears were negatively associated with water, small and medium roads, mean patch size, patch size coefficient of variation, edge density, developed land-use, and non-forested wetlands, and positively associated with Shannon's diversity index, aspen (Populus spp.), and forested wetlands. Furthermore, the variability in selection by individual female bears for non-forested wetland and individual male bears for agriculture was large relative to the variability in selection of other land-use or land-cover types. Male bears had more heterogeneity with respect to selection of land-use or land-cover types than female bears. There were significant correlations between male bear age and their respective selection parameter estimates for small roads, medium roads, and developed land-use. Running Bayesian random effects discrete-choice models at multiple resolutions accounted for variability due to unequal sample sizes and bear behavior, and demonstrate the utility of the Bayesian framework for bear management purposes.
