Addressing inequality and intolerance in human–wildlife coexistence

Millennia of human conflict with wildlife have built a culture of intolerance toward wildlife among some stakeholders. We explored 2 key obstacles to improved human–wildlife coexistence: coexistence inequality (how the costs and benefits of coexisting with wildlife are unequally shared) and intolerance. The costs of coexisting with wildlife are often disproportionately borne by the so-called global south and rural communities, and the benefits often flow to the global north and urban dwellers. Attitudes and behaviors toward wildlife (tolerance versus intolerance) vary with social and cultural norms. We suggest more empathetic advocacy is needed that, for example, promotes conservation while appropriately considering those who bear the costs of conflict with wildlife. To achieve more equitable cost-sharing, we suggest limiting the costs incurred by those most affected or by sharing those costs more widely. For example, we advocate for the development of improved wildlife compensation schemes, increasing the scale of rewilding efforts, and preventing wildlife-derived revenue leaching out of the local communities bearing the costs of coexistence.     

Measuring impacts on species with models and metrics of varying ecological and computational complexity

Approaches to assess the impacts of landscape disturbance scenarios on species range from metrics based on patterns of occurrence or habitat to comprehensive models that explicitly include ecological processes. The choice of metrics and models affects how impacts are interpreted and conservation decisions. We explored the impacts of 3 realistic disturbance scenarios on 4 species with different ecological and taxonomic traits. We used progressively more complex models and metrics to evaluate relative impact and rank of scenarios on the species. Models ranged from species distribution models that relied on implicit assumptions about environmental factors and species presence to highly parameterized spatially explicit population models that explicitly included ecological processes and stochasticity. Metrics performed consistently in ranking different scenarios in order of severity primarily when variation in impact was driven by habitat amount. However, they differed in rank for cases where dispersal dynamics were critical in influencing metapopulation persistence. Impacts of scenarios on species with low dispersal ability were better characterized using models that explicitly captured these processes. Metapopulation capacity provided rank orders that most consistently correlated with those from highly parameterized and data-rich models and incorporated information about dispersal with little additional computational and data cost. Our results highlight the importance of explicitly considering species’ ecology, spatial configuration of habitat, and disturbance when choosing indicators of species persistence. We suggest using hybrid approaches that are a mixture of simple and complex models to improve multispecies assessments.     

The role of psychology in determining human–predator conflict across southern Kenya

Conflict between people and carnivores can lead to the widespread killing of predators in retaliation for livestock loss and is a major threat to predator populations. In Kenya, a large, rural, pastoralist population comes into regular conflict with predators, which persist across southern Kenya. We explored the social and psychological backdrop to livestock management practices in this area in a process designed to be easy to use and suitable for use across large areas for the study of conflict and transboundary implementation of wildlife conflict reduction measures, focusing on community involvement and needs. We carried out fully structured interviews of livestock managers with a survey tool that examined how social and psychological factors may influence livestock management behavior. We compared survey responses on 3 sites across the study area, resulting in 723 usable responses. Efficacy of individuals’ livestock management varied between and within communities. This variation was partially explained by normative and control beliefs regarding livestock management. Individual livestock managers’ self-reported management issues were often an accurate reflection of their practical management difficulties. Psychological norms, control beliefs, and attitudes differed among sites, and these differences partially explained patterns associated with conflict (i.e., variation in livestock management behavior). Thus, we conclude that a one-size-fits-all approach to improving livestock management and reducing human–predator conflict is not suitable.     

Exploring nationality and social identity to explain attitudes toward conservation actions in the United States and Australia

Understanding human attitudes toward wildlife management is critical to implementing effective conservation action and policy. Understanding the factors that shape public attitudes toward different wildlife management actions is limited, however, which can result in unpredictable public responses to interventions. We drew on comparisons between residents of 2 countries on separate continents to explore differences in attitudes toward wildlife management and determine factors important in shaping these attitudes. We surveyed representative publics via market research panels in Australia (n = 881 respondents) and the United States (n = 1287). We applied a social-identity approach and demography to identify factors that explained variance between responses about wildlife management. We compared responses between countries overall and within subgroups of respondents who strongly identified as environmentalists, animal rights activists, wildlife conservation advocates, and farmers. We created aggregate scores for the management-related response items per respondent and used regression analyses to identify the relative importance of country, identity, age, and gender in explaining variance between responses. These factors accounted for 15.3% of variance among responses. Australians overall were generally more accepting of lethal wildlife management actions than U.S. respondents. Differences in national attitudes reflected differences between United States and Australian wildlife management and policy, highlighting the importance of understanding social attitudes in shaping conservation policy. Identifying as a farmer followed by identifying as an animal rights activist most shaped attitudes toward wildlife management. Identity-related conflicts could be initiated or exacerbated by conservation interventions that fail to consider identity-related processes.     

Effects of social networks on interventions to change conservation behavior

Social networks are critical to the success of behavioral interventions in conservation because network processes such as information flows and social influence can enable behavior change to spread beyond a targeted group. We investigated these mechanisms in the context of a social marketing campaign to promote a wildlife poisoning hotline in Cambodia. With questionnaire surveys we measured a social network and knowledge and constructs from the theory of planned behavior at 3 points over 6 months. The intervention initially targeted ∼11% (of 365) of the village, but after 6 months ∼40% of the population was knowledgeable about the campaign. The likelihood of being knowledgeable nearly doubled with each additional knowledgeable household member. In the short term, there was also a modest, but widespread improvement in proconservation behavioral intentions, but this did not persist after 6 months. Estimates from stochastic actor-oriented models suggested that the influences of social peers, rather than knowledge, were driving changes in intention and contributed to the failure to change behavioral intention in the long term, despite lasting changes in attitudes and perceived norms. Our results point to the importance of accounting for the interaction between networks and behavior when designing conservation interventions.     

Functional diversity loss and change in nocturnal behavior of mammals under anthropogenic disturbance

In the Anthropocene, understanding the impacts of anthropogenic influence on biodiversity and behavior of vulnerable wildlife communities is increasingly relevant to effective conservation. However, comparative studies aimed at disentangling the concurrent effect of different types of human disturbance on multifaceted biodiversity and on activity patterns of mammals are surprisingly rare. We applied a multiregion community model to separately estimate the effects of cumulative human modification (e.g., settlement, agriculture, and transportation) and human presence (aggregated presence of dogs, people, and livestock) on species richness and functional composition of medium- and large-bodied mammals based on camera trap data collected across 45 subtropical montane forests. We divided the detected mammal species into three trophic guilds–carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores–and assessed the nocturnal shifts of each guild in response to anthropogenic activities. Overall, species richness tended to increase (β coefficient = 0.954) as human modification increased but richness decreased as human presence increased (β = –1.054). Human modification was associated with significantly lower functional diversity (mean nearest taxon distance [MNTD], β = –0.134; standardized effect sizes of MNTD, β = –0.397), community average body mass (β = –0.240), and proportion of carnivores (β = –0.580). Human presence was associated with a strongly reduced proportion of herbivores (β = –0.522), whereas proportion of omnivores significantly increased as human presence (β = 0.378) and habitat modification (β = 0.419) increased. In terms of activity patterns, omnivores (β = 12.103) and carnivores (β = 9.368) became more nocturnal in response to human modification. Our results suggest that human modification and human presence have differing effects on mammals and demonstrate that anthropogenic disturbances can lead to drastic loss of functional diversity and result in a shift to nocturnal behavior of mammals. Conservation planning should consider concurrent effects of different types of human disturbance on species richness, functional diversity, and behavior of wildlife communities.     

Practical implementation of cumulative-effects management of marine ecosystems in western North America

Globally, ecosystem structure and function have been degraded by the cumulative effects (CE) of multiple stressors. To maintain ecosystem resilience, there is an urgent need to better account for CE in management decision-making at various scales. Current laws and regulations are supported by a multitude of frameworks and strategies that vary in application and terminology use across management agencies and geopolitical boundaries. We synthesized management frameworks that accounted for CE in marine ecosystems at the regional and national levels across western North America (Canada, United States, Mexico) to identify similarities and shared challenges to successful implementation. We examined examples of solutions to the identified challenges (e.g., interagency and cross-border partnerships to overcome challenges of managing for ecologically relevant spatial scales). Management frameworks in general consisted of 3 phases: scoping and structuring the system; characterizing relationships; and evaluating management options. Challenges in the robust implementation of these phases included lack of interagency coordination, minimal incorporation of diverse perspectives, and data deficiencies. Cases that provided solutions to these challenges encouraged coordination at ecological rather than jurisdictional scales, enhanced involvement of stakeholders and Indigenous groups, and used nontraditional data sources for decision-making. Broader implementation of these approaches, combined with increased interagency and international coordination and collaboration, should facilitate the rapid advancement of more effective CE assessment and ecosystem management in North America and elsewhere.     

Plastics in the Marine Environment: Problems and Solutions

Plastics debris is known to be present in all of the world's oceans, and on most amenity beaches, although comparatively little data are available to provide reliable information on the extent of damage from this pollution, and on its spatial and temporal variations.

Marine pollution by plastics has been shown to be damaging to marine mammals, birds and reptiles. This is due to entanglement in packaging bands, synthetic ropes and lines, or drift nets; or by the ingestion of small items of plastics debris. More research is needed to quantify the extent of the problems.

Wider use of degradable plastics will not solve the problems of plastics pollution. Their lifetimes are relatively long and unpredictable, and they are not generally acceptable for recycling.

Marine plastics pollution may be alleviated by the judicious application of both economic incentives and legislation, designed to decrease their use, to increase the rate of recycling, and to restrict uncontrolled discards.     

川西亚高山云杉叶凋落物质量损失过程及土壤生物的作用

采用分解袋法,研究了川西亚高山云杉纯林与混交林叶凋落物的质量损失过程及土壤动物与微生物的作用。结果如下:(1)云杉叶凋落物分解过程中,土壤动物数量总体呈下降趋势,即土壤动物主要在分解前期发挥作用,其中,大型土壤动物早期以植食性的蛴螬为主,中期以捕食性的石蜈蚣为主,后期以腐食性的马陆为主;中小型土壤动物始终以螨类、跳虫和线虫为优势类群;相关分析表明线虫数量与云杉叶凋落物分解速率相关性最大,大型土壤动物次之。(2)云杉叶凋落物分解过程中,微生物数量总体呈上升趋势,即土壤微生物主要在分解后期发挥作用,进一步相关分析表明真菌数量与云杉叶凋落物分解速率相关性大于细菌和放线菌。(3)云杉纯林叶凋落物分解速率低于混交林,其中分解3、15、21、24个月时,纯林小孔径分解袋失重率分别为混交林的65.51%、95.73%、98.91%、94.8%,大孔径分解袋失重率分别为混交林的89.83%、92.95%、98.13%、97.13%,即,两类林分小孔径分解袋及凋落物分解前期失重率差异更为明显,表明凋落物分解速率既受底物质量的影响,也和参与分解的土壤生物有关,其中与线虫、大型土壤动物及真菌的数量相关性最大。     

珠海淇澳岛红树林蟹类区系

2008年7月—2010年9月,对珠海淇澳岛红树林不同生境和不同植被群落的蟹类进行了调查,共采集到蟹类8科24种,其中相手蟹科Sesarmidae种类最多,为9种;弓蟹科Varunidae次之,为5种,沙蟹科Ocypodidae 4种。Jaccard区系相似性指数表明,林内泥滩与林外硬质泥滩蟹类区系为中等相似（J=0.523）,林外硬质泥滩与高潮区光滩蟹类区系（J=0.071）及林内泥滩与高潮区光滩蟹类区系（J=0）都极不相似。林内泥滩蟹类中,谭氏泥蟹（Ilyoplax deschampsi）在数量上占绝对优势。无齿螳臂相手蟹（Chiromantes dehaani）、中华中相手蟹（Sesarmops sinensis）和弧边招潮蟹（Uca arcuata）等在红树林外道路两侧和堤坝较硬质泥滩数量较多,而林外高潮区光滩的蟹类都是耐干旱和奔跑能力较强的种类。天然秋茄（Kandelia candel）群落蟹类种类数和平均密度较人工引种的无瓣海桑（Sonneratia apetala）群落的少,但平均生物量较无瓣海桑群落高。秋茄群落蟹类密度和生物量与土壤全氮、全磷、有机质等理化因子都呈不显著相关;无瓣海桑群落土壤速效磷与蟹类生物量呈极显著正相关,与蟹类密度呈显著正相关;全磷与蟹类密度呈显著负相关。红树林土壤类型和新生蟹类补充进种群是影响珠海淇澳岛红树林蟹类密度和生物量变化的主要原因。