Ethnobiology and Conservation

Exploring local ecological knowledge to inform the conservation of the Endangered and understudied Preuss’s monkey (Allochrocebus preussi) in Ebo forest, Cameroon

2023-12-07T19:53:30+00:00

This study explored local ecological knowledge held by local people bordering Cameroon’s Ebo forest, in view to evaluate the possible contribution of this set of knowledge to conserve the understudied Preuss’s monkey (Allochrocebus preussi). Data were collected through interviews using semi-structured questionnaires, administered to 262 households from 17 villages of permanent settlements purposely selected based on their closeness and dependence to the Ebo forest for livelihoods. We found that the log-odds of being in favor of conserving A. preussi in the area was significantly higher for participants of secondary school level of education, strongly increased when participants had last eaten this species ≥ 1 year ago and was higher for participants who use this species for subsistence. The log-odds of perceiving a decreasing trend of A. preussi in the area was significantly highest for participants who had last consumed this species ≥ 5 years ago compared to those who had recently consumed the species. Participants who used A. preussi for income generation were more likely to perceive decreasing trend, compared to those who used it for food. Overall, our study highlights the possible value of local ecological knowledge as a tool that can provide important information to conservationists and decision-makers useful to plan and prioritize conservation actions for A. preussi. Also, our findings suggest the urgency to monitor populations of A. preussi, assess the impact of hunting pressure on this species, and develop sustainable livelihood activities and community-based conservation education to strengthening the conservation of A. preussi in Ebo forest.

Analysis of scientific production and knowledge about wildlife roadkill in Brazilian protected areas

2024-03-13T13:19:04+00:00

Roads are responsible for great biodiversity loss, especially in protected areas (PAs). Thus, considering the great risk of roads to PAs and the lack of knowledge about these areas, we aimed to analyze the scientific production on wildlife roadkill in Brazil and compare the studies that surveyed roads with and without PAs. We searched for papers in five databases: SciELO, Google Scholar, Reet Brasil, Scopus and Plataforma Lattes. Studies considered to be near PAs (PPA) collected data within a radius of 1km of PAs and the other studies were considered to have no PA (NPA). We found 126 studies that surveyed wildlife roadkill in Brazil, of which 57% are PPA. Publications on wildlife roadkill have increased in recent years, with a greater number of PPA studies than NPA studies (W = 618, p = 0.5992). Mammals are the most-studied group (n = 108), followed by reptiles (n = 79), birds (n = 73) and amphibians (n = 58). Most of the studies took place in the Cerrado (54) and the Atlantic Forest (45), where are the greatest number of surveyed PAs, greatest number of PAs and greatest number of PAs without studies. Only 18 papers suggest specific mitigation measures for the study site. The increase in PPA studies is positive, but researchers need to increase contact with PA managers to produce scientific knowledge and develop more efficient mitigation measures for these areas. We encourage increased surveying of roads near PAs, involvement of researchers with environmental agencies, and more studies with small animals.

Politics of Knowledge in Conservation: (De)valued Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Bote in Chitwan National Park, Nepal

2024-01-03T12:44:29+00:00

Political ecology studies have mostly explored the conflicts that arise between local communities and Indigenous peoples' (IPs') vulnerability to sustainable livelihoods based on nature and conservation regimes. Even in the context of the change in conservation tactics towards active community involvement and socioeconomic development, which has reinforced the fortress conservation strategy, traditional ways of life and the lived traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of IPs are under jeopardy. Nevertheless, the studies give little consideration to the way in which TEK is (de)valued for bolstering fortress conservation at the expense of IPs' livelihoods unsustainability. This study investigates the (de)valuation of TEK of Bote embedded in their traditional livelihoods through conservation management, based on a critical ethnographic investigation carried out in two villages of Bote IPs (in the Buffer Zone area) of Nawalparasi district of Chitwan National Park (CNP) –southern lowlands of Nepal. We argue that TEK is paralyzed by a conservation regime without acknowledging the symbiotic relationship between IPs and biodiversity. Therefore, in order to conserve biodiversity and support the mutual sustainability of biodiversity and local livelihoods, there needs to be active guardianship and stewardship of IPs.

Traditional ecological knowledge of mangrove wood use on the Brazilian Amazon coast

2024-01-03T12:44:17+00:00

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has been widely used and valued as a reliable source of information in the development of research on the various uses of the forest. Here, the socio-environmental factors that affect the traditional knowledge of extractivists about the uses of mangrove wood in an estuarine-coastal community in the Brazilian Amazon region were analyzed. The grouping of words evoked in semi-structured interviews with 108 local informants highlighted the lexicons that best express the use of mangrove wood. Factorial correspondence analysis was used to assess the intersection between words and age groups, helping to indicate respondents' TEK of these uses. Most respondents say that wood is used for domestic (family) purposes, mainly charcoal and weir, and that these purposes and applications were taught by the older generation of the community. The traditional uses of the species Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa have been validated by the scientific literature through their technological properties. From this validation, a relevant contribution is to include the participation of users in intervention processes by using their TEK, making the planning process of preventive conservation strategies and management proposals more efficient, promoting the reduction of a future advance deforestation in this region. Likewise, such information is relevant to guide the social actors involved in the implementation of public policies, favouring the creation of new alternatives and solutions for better management and use of wood resources in mangrove areas.

Can debarking affects sex ratio, population structure and spatial segregation?: insights of unsustainable harvesting in a Mesoamerican tropical tree

2024-01-23T12:54:53+00:00

The ecological mechanisms that contribute to maintaining plant populations have been exhaustively examined around the world, but the relative quantification of the effect of anthropogenic processes on these mechanisms in tropical dioecious tree species has not been revealed yet. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of debarking on the sex ratio, population structure, distribution and spatial correlation between the sexes and growth stages of Amphipterygium adstringens (Anaciardiaceae), a dioecious tree species that is highly exploited for its medicinal bark. We found differences in plant density between harvested and non-harvested stands. The sex ratio was 1.33♂:1♀ in harvested stands while the opposite was true for non-harvested stands (1.27♀:1♂), which suggest that selective debarking drives androic-skewed and has an impact on reproductive performance. However, despite the dominance of a certain sex in the relative frequencies under each condition, we did not register spatial sex segregation since the analysis suggests that the spatial independence pattern does not differ between sites. In contrast, facilitation requirements (spatial attraction) between androic plants and seedlings, and between seedlings and saplings were found in non-harvested areas, while spatial uniformity patterns on a population level suggest strategies to avoid competition over space and finite resources in stressful environments. These novel findings point out that debarking constitutes a factor that not only modifies the spatial and population structure of a Mesoamerican tropical tree, but it can also influence sex ratio, consequently affecting the long-term conservation of A. adstringens stands.

Are firewood preference behaviors influenced by restrictions in access to vegetation, and can they vary over time?

2024-04-11T13:30:30+00:00

Studies aim to understand the behavior of human populations when selecting certain groups of plants over others. Some plants are chosen for favorable characteristics that justify specific uses. Thus, individuals may exhibit specialized behavior patterns, selecting plants for fuel based on specific biological traits like ignition potential and durability, or generalized behavior patterns, depending on species availability or utilitarian redundancy. However, little is known about how the preference for these resources may be shaped by contexts that prohibit resource use. Prohibiting resource use can compel human groups to devise new selection strategies, leading to significant changes in socioecological system dynamics. Hence, this study aims to investigate how preference for plants used as firewood varies in areas with restricted and unrestricted resource use. We conducted semi-structured interviews in two communities. Participants with restricted natural resource access in the past showed a tendency towards specialized behavior (p<0.000849). However, due to imposed restrictions, the community had to develop new usage strategies, resulting in a tendency towards generalized behavior (p>0.6489). Preference in unrestricted use areas varied over years, with generalists in the past (p>0.4675) and specialists presently (p<0.2074). Based on these behaviors, we infer that these human groups possess adaptive plasticity to mitigate the drastic effects of long-term wood resource extraction.

Tikuna Perceptions of Extreme Weather Events: A Case Study on an Indigenous Lands in the Upper Solimões River, Brazil

2024-01-23T12:55:03+00:00

The synergistic effects of extreme weather events and socioecological vulnerability are still poorly documented for Amazonian indigenous peoples. Herein, we investigated the impacts of recent extreme weather events on Tikuna villages. Tikuna are ancient people of the Amazon, with an estimated population of approximately 53 thousand people widely distributed along the upper Solimões River in the western Brazilian Amazon. The fieldwork was carried out between October 10 and December 10, 2018, using participatory research, including focus group interviews and free-listing exercises. Four extreme weather events were recalled, namely, the extreme floods of 2009, the subsequent extreme drought of 2010, and the extreme floods of 2012 and 2015. The results indicated that Tikuna from some villages are adopting migration from floodplain habitats to nonflooded lands as a coping strategy to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. This process was characterized by famine periods, internal divisions, and increased vulnerability. The three villages have rich traditional knowledge and live on a large diversity of biological resources, base for a fishing economy and for an agroforestry system, the original indigenous subsistence agriculture with a high level of self-sufficiency in terms of food. Until our study, Tikunas had not received any information about the global climate emergency. Our findings can contribute to formulating public policies to provide support for adapting to climate change. These policies must ensure the participation of the Tikuna and other indigenous peoples in local and national discussions on climate change, strengthening their capacity to develop adaptation strategies based on their ancestral knowledge.

Understanding the drivers of the live bird trade in Brazil

2024-01-07T12:44:51+00:00

In this work we sought to evaluate the factors that influence the public's interest in wild birds sold as pets in Brazil, and the relationship of those factors with new occurrences of birds outside their natural range. We compiled the richness of bird species traded in Brazil and obtained comparative data of public interest directed to these species through the Google Trend tool. In addition, we gathered data on biological attributes and the sale price of the species in the trade, to analyze which factors would be related to public interest. Then, factors related to public interest were used to assess whether there was a relationship with these new occurrences. The main founds indicated that the public interest is greater for songbirds, omnivores, which live in more open environments and are sold at lower prices. All those factors also showed to be related to the birds that presented new occurrences. The public's preference for birds more generalist and from more open environments are important results, as such factors generally indicate greater environmental tolerance, which may favor the establishment of these birds in new environments. Therefore, it is likely that species releases or escape from captivity, combined with their life history attributes, may favor the establishment of isolates in new environments. Thus, the present results demonstrate that actions aimed at the conservation of commercialized species are essential to reduce the interregional trade of species, and consequently reduce the impact on natural populations and reduce the potential for new biological introductions.

The impact of RS–040 highway on wildlife roadkill patterns, Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil

2024-01-04T12:44:18+00:00

Road infrastructure has caused severe impacts on the environment and wildlife. Understanding and mitigating these effects are essential conservation measures. This study aimed to evaluate wildlife mortality due to animal-vehicle collisions along an 80-km stretch of the Tapir Rocha Highway (RS–040). The field inventory was carried out between August 2015 and March 2019. Once a week, two observers drove along the highway at an average speed of 40 km/h and all the vertebrate roadkill spotted from the car were assessed to record the species, carcass condition, and the roadkill locations along the road. In total, 2,371 dead animals were recorded and categorized into 137 species. The most affected classes were mammals (n = 1,223), and birds (n = 704). The most affected wild species were white-eared opossums (Didelphis albiventris, n = 559), black-and-white tegus (Salvator merianae, n = 129), and coypus (Myocastor coypus, n = 102). Carcass exposure assessments indicated that many (n = 637) of the animal deaths occurred the night before our arrival, which may suggest that nocturnal species were among the most vulnerable to mortality. Roadkill sighting peaked in the spring (34%) and summer (25%), probably due to reproductive activity and juvenile dispersal. Evident seasonal variations included a 50% reduction in reptile roadkill rates in autumn-winter compared to spring-summer, and a 20-percentage-point increase in the number of mammal road deaths in the winter. The reduced activity that reptiles display at low temperatures, and seasonal changes in carnivore food habits may explain these respective findings. While most of the animal victims of roadkill were common and widely distributed species with abundant populations, decreasing abundance of these species is a growing conservation concern.

Wildlife Consumption Dynamics: Unveiling Conduru Park in Southern Bahia, Brazil

2024-01-04T12:44:29+00:00

The current investigation aimed to identify the wild animals utilized as a food source in five locations within the Serra do Conduru State Park region, Bahia, Brazil. The field survey was conducted from June 2016 to July 2017, involving semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with 45 hunters. The composition of species used for sustenance in the five locations was characterized through permutation multivariate analyses of variance. Generalized linear models were constructed to evaluate whether socio-demographic variables among hunters influenced the number of captured species. A total of 67 species (34 families and 22 orders) of hunting significance were documented in the region, with 41 being hunted for consumption. The most represented taxa were mammals (32), birds (21), reptiles (13), and amphibians (1). Dicotyles tajacu, Dasypus novemcinctus, and Cuniculus paca emerged as the most targeted species for food. Hunters who still reside within the conservation unit capture a greater number of wild animals. Older hunters and those with smaller family sizes hunt a broader range of species. The rifle and domestic dogs are the predominant techniques employed in the region. The findings underscore the persistence of illegal hunting practices in the Serra do Conduru State Park region. This emphasizes the necessity for measures directed at the conservation of hunted species, particularly those identified as being under some degree of threat in nature.

Are beekeepers conservation-friendly? A study on attitudes and values toward animals among small-scale farmers

2024-01-23T12:55:15+00:00

Affective and aesthetic values attributed to nature are primary motivations that can influence human attitudes toward and economic valuation of biodiversity. The expression of these values, however, depends on direct contact and positive experiences with nature. In this sense, research on activities that favor beneficial human-nature interactions, such as beekeeping, can contribute to understanding the factors (including affective and aesthetic) that influence attitudes toward and economic valuation of biodiversity. Our research was carried out at Sítio Xixá, a rural locality originally covered by Atlantic Forest in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. We investigated attitudes toward a variety of locally known animals and their economic value among two groups of small-scale farmers: keepers and nonkeepers of stingless bees. We assumed that keepers of stingless bees would cite more affective-aesthetic attitudes toward animals and would be more willing to pay for animal conservation than nonbeekeepers. The data were collected via semistructured interviews. Beekeepers cited more affective-aesthetic attitudes than nonbeekeepers did. On the other hand, beekeepers were less willing to pay for animal conservation than nonbeekeepers were. It seems that the expression of affective-aesthetic values directed toward animals tends to occur more frequently in groups of people who maintain activities that favor beneficial interactions with the environment, such as beekeepers. However, these values reflect nonmaterial aspects that people attribute to nature and may not be economically valued by human groups. Therefore, nonmaterial values that human populations attribute to nature, such as those related to affection and aesthetics, should be considered in conservation proposals involving the public.

Is there a neocolonial stance in ethnobiology?

2024-01-05T12:44:23+00:00

Enhancing Editorial Standards and Introducing the New Checklist Section of the Ethnobiology and Conservation

2024-03-08T13:18:31+00:00