Avoiding negativity bias: Towards a positive psychology of human–wildlife relationships

Recently, new approaches to wildlife management are being developed, such as coexistence management and convivial conservation. These approaches aim to shift management practices from mitigating human–wildlife conflicts towards cohabitation and explore mutual benefits. To align empirical research to these new approaches, we argue for the relevance of positive psychology theory to inspire and structure research into the benefits of human–wildlife interactions. Positive psychology suggests three pathways through which human–wildlife interactions may lead to happiness and well-being: pleasure, engagement, and meaning. Applying these pathways to human–wildlife research may (i) structure existing research into the benefits of human–wildlife interactions, (ii) disclose unidentified benefits of human–wildlife interactions, and (iii) unravel mechanisms which make experiencing and protecting wildlife worthwhile and rewarding. Also, we suggest a potential feedback loop between wildlife experiences, happiness and well-being, and pro-environmental behaviours. More in-depth research into these mechanisms may improve our understanding of attitudes towards conservation of wildlife and its habitat and may suggest strategies to strengthen stewardship actions and public support for conservation strategies. Together, these strands of research could initiate research into what could be called a “Positive Ecology”.     

基于地球化学特性的海州湾海洋牧场沉积物重金属研究

海洋牧场是一种新的可持续的生产方式,对中国海洋经济的转型具有重要作用.本文根据海底构筑物的密集程度与投放时间把海州湾海洋牧场划分为3个区(外侧区、内测区、中心区),对表层沉积物的温度(T)、酸碱度(p H)、氧化还原电位(Eh)、表面积平均粒径(D[3,2])、总有机碳(TOC)这5种地球化学指标进行原位调查,采用改进的BCR方法对重金属Cr、Cu、Ni、Zn、Pb、Cd进行连续提取.结果表明,沉积物Eh的横向分布受到了海底构筑物的影响,TOC在11.7~13.5 g·kg-1之间,与p H呈显著负相关;Cu、Zn、Ni、Cr以原生相为主要赋存形态,Pb、Cd以次生相的铁锰氧化物结合态(F2)为主要赋存形态,并受Eh控制;相关性及聚类分析表明,Cr、Cu、Ni、Zn为天然源,Cd、Pb存在明显的人为来源;Cr、Ni、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd的可交换及碳酸盐结合态(F1)与TOC显著相关,Cr、Ni、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cd铁锰氧化物结合态(F2)、Cr、Ni、Cu、Zn的残渣态(F4)都与沉积物粒度显著相关,不同形态的Cd受多环境因子控制;海洋牧场中心区和外侧区沉积物中重金属总量、次生相含量均较内侧区和对照区要低.由于海底构筑物和水动力学的差异性,海洋牧场内侧区细颗粒与有机质对沉积物重金属Cr、Ni、Cu、Zn次生相的富集、吸附作用要大于颗粒再悬浮的释放作用,而在中心区、外侧区细颗粒和有机质影响较小;沉积物富集系数显示Cd出现了富集现象.     

Demographic Connectivity for Ursid Populations at Wildlife Crossing Structures in Banff National Park

Wildlife crossing structures are one solution to mitigating the fragmentation of wildlife populations caused by roads, but their effectiveness in providing connectivity has only been superficially evaluated. Hundreds of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bear (Ursus americanus) passages through under and overpasses have been recorded in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. However, the ability of crossing structures to allow individual and population‐level movements across road networks remains unknown. In April 2006, we initiated a 3‐year investigation into whether crossing structures provide demographic connectivity for grizzly and black bears in Banff National Park. We collected hair with multiple noninvasive methods to obtain genetic samples from grizzly and black bears around the Bow Valley. Our objectives were to determine the number of male and female grizzly and black bears that use crossing structures; examine spatial and temporal patterns of crossings; and estimate the proportions of grizzly and black bear populations in the Bow Valley that use crossing structures. Fifteen grizzly (7 female, 8 male) and 17 black bears (8 female, 9 male) used wildlife crossing structures. The number of individuals detected at wildlife crossing structures was highly correlated with the number of passages in space and time. Grizzly bears used open crossing structures (e.g., overpasses) more often than constricted crossings (e.g., culverts). Peak use of crossing structures for both bear species occurred in July, when high rates of foraging activity coincide with mating season. We compared the number of bears that used crossings with estimates of population abundance from a related study and determined that substantial percentages of grizzly (15.0% in 2006, 19.8% in 2008) and black bear (17.6% in 2006, 11.0% in 2008) populations used crossing structures. On the basis of our results, we concluded wildlife crossing structures provide demographic connectivity for bear populations in Banff National Park. Conectividad Demográfica para Poblaciones de Úrsidos en Estructuras para Cruce de Vida Silvestre en el Parque Nacional Banff     

Combating the Illegal Trade in African Elephant Ivory with DNA Forensics

Abstract:  International wildlife crime is burgeoning in this climate of global trade. We contend that the most effective way to contain this illegal trade is to determine where the wildlife is being removed. This allows authorities to direct law enforcement to poaching hot spots, potentially stops trade before the wildlife is actually killed, prevents countries from denying their poaching problems at home, and thwarts trade before it enters into an increasingly complex web of international criminal activity. Forensic tools have been limited in their ability to determine product origin because the information they can provide typically begins only at the point of shipment. DNA assignment analyses can determine product origin, but its use has been limited by the inability to assign samples to locations where reference samples do not exist. We applied new DNA assignment methods that can determine the geographic origin(s) of wildlife products from anywhere within its range. We used these methods to examine the geographic origin(s) of 2 strings of seizures involving large volumes of elephant ivory, 1 string seized in Singapore and Malawi and the other in Hong Kong and Cameroon. These ivory traffickers may comprise 2 of the largest poaching rings in Africa. In both cases all ivory seized in the string had common origins, which indicates that crime syndicates are targeting specific populations for intense exploitation. This result contradicts the dominant belief that dealers are using a decentralized plan of procuring ivory stocks as they became available across Africa. Large quantities of ivory were then moved, in multiple shipments, through an intermediate country prior to shipment to Asia, as a risk-reduction strategy that distances the dealer from the poaching locale. These smuggling strategies could not have been detected by forensic information, which typically begins only at the shipping source.     

Effects of the Presence of Official‐Looking Volunteers on Harassment of New Zealand Fur Seals

Abstract: An increased number of tourists viewing animals in the wild have increased stress on these animals (hereafter wildlife). Many wildlife‐viewing locations rely on voluntary compliance with posted regulations to protect animals from tourists because of the expense of employing on‐site enforcement personnel. Voluntary compliance, however, is ineffective. The presence of official‐looking volunteers may decrease the incidence of wildlife harassment by tourists. To test this possibility, we observed tourists interacting with 5‐ to 12‐month‐old New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) at the popular Ohau Stream waterfall while in the absence or presence of a young woman in plain sight wearing a neon vest (i.e., observer) and when an observer was not present. We observed 254 tourist groups at the waterfall when young seals were present. The percentage of groups in which at least one person harassed (approached, touched, or threw objects) a young seal was two‐thirds lower when the official‐looking observer was present. Frequency of harassment was inversely related to observer presence. Programs in which volunteers work at tourist sites are popular in countries with high tourism rates, such as New Zealand. Our results show that a relatively inexpensive and effective tourism‐management strategy may be to post such volunteers as observers at sites where tourists view wildlife.     

Effects of Road Mortality and Mitigation Measures on Amphibian Populations

Road mortality is a widely recognized but rarely quantified threat to the viability of amphibian populations. The global extent of the problem is substantial and factors affecting the number of animals killed on highways include life‐history traits and landscape features. Secondary effects include genetic isolation due to roads acting as barriers to migration. Long‐term effects of roads on population dynamics are often severe and mitigation methods include volunteer rescues and under‐road tunnels. Despite the development of methods that reduce road kill in specific locations, especially under‐road tunnels and culverts, there is scant evidence that such measures will protect populations over the long term. There also seems little likelihood that funding will be forthcoming to ameliorate the problem at the scale necessary to prevent further population declines. Efectos de la Mortalidad en Carreteras y Medidas de Mitigación en Poblaciones de Anfibios Beebee     

Enhancing Conservation,Ecosystem Services,and Local Livelihoods through a Wildlife Premium Mechanism

We propose the wildlife premium mechanism as an innovation to conserve endangered large vertebrates. The performance‐based payment scheme would allow stakeholders in lower‐income countries to generate revenue by recovering and maintaining threatened fauna that can also serve as umbrella species (i.e., species whose protection benefits other species with which they co‐occur). There are 3 possible options for applying the premium: option 1, embed premiums in a carbon payment; option 2, link premiums to a related carbon payment, but as independent and legally separate transactions; option 3, link premiums to noncarbon payments for conserving ecosystem services (PES). Each option presents advantages, such as incentive payments to improve livelihoods of rural poor who reside in or near areas harboring umbrella species, and challenges, such as the establishment of a subnational carbon credit scheme. In Kenya, Peru, and Nepal pilot premium projects are now underway or being finalized that largely follow option 1. The Kasigau (Kenya) project is the first voluntary carbon credit project to win approval from the 2 leading groups sanctioning such protocols and has already sold carbon credits totaling over $1.2 million since June 2011. A portion of the earnings is divided among community landowners and projects that support community members and has added over 350 jobs to the local economy. All 3 projects involve extensive community management because they occur on lands where locals hold the title or have a long‐term lease from the government. The monitoring, reporting, and verification required to make premium payments credible to investors include transparent methods for collecting data on key indices by trained community members and verification of their reporting by a biologist. A wildlife premium readiness fund would enable expansion of pilot programs needed to test options beyond those presented here. Mejora de la Conservación, Servicios del Ecosistema y Calidad de Vida Local Mediante un Mecanismo de Compensación de Vida Silvestre     

人类活动对甘肃境内国家重点保护野生动物的影响

1999-2002年对甘肃境内的白水江、祁连山、安西自然保护区和河西地区影响国家重点保护野生动物的人类经济活动,从牧业、农业、林业和工业4个方面进行了调查;并且搜集整理了1999-2002年发表的相关论文和专著,对影响国家重点保护野生动物的人类经济活动按作用方式、人类活动的形式和对野生动物影响的结果3个方面进行了分类,从野生动物分布、栖息环境和种类变化3方面分析了人类经济活动对国家重点保护野生动物造成的影响.     

Estimating relative demand for wildlife: Conservation activity indicators

An alternative method of estimating relative demand among nonconsumptive uses of wildlife and among wildlife species is proposed. A demand intensity score (DIS), derived from the relative extent of an individual's involvement in outdoor recreation and conservation activities, is used as a weighting device to adjust the importance of preference rankings for wildlife uses and wildlife species relative to other members of a survey population. These adjusted preference rankings were considered to reflect relative demand levels (RDLs) for wildlife uses and for species by the survey population. This technique may be useful where it is not possible or desirable to estimate demand using traditional economic means. In one of the findings from a survey of municipal conservation commission members in Massachusetts, presented as an illustration of this methodology, poisonous snakes were ranked third in preference among five groups of reptiles. The relative demand level for poisonous snakes, however, was last among the five groups.     

关于革除滥食野生动物陋习决定的解读

为了预防公共卫生风险、保护生态环境,全国人大常委会于2020年2月通过了《关于全面禁止非法野生动物交易、革除滥食野生动物陋习、切实保障人民群众生命健康安全的决定》(以下简称《决定》)。《决定》通过黑名单和白名单明确了禁食野生动物范围和可食动物范围、人工繁育的特殊情形,从猎捕、交易、运输、食用环节全过程开展监管和协调执法。本文深入剖析了《决定》出台的意义和目的、《决定》的主要内容和亮点,并提出了贯彻落实《决定》的措施建议。建议科学制定国家级畜禽遗传资源保护名录和国家水产品遗传资源保护名录;建立全国统一的执法信息平台和违法举报平台,建立执法考核制度和问责办法;持续提供相应保障;加强国际合作和公众参与。