This work examined population demography and reproductive seasonality among small mammals under protection, pastoralism and agriculture in the Serengeti Ecosystem in 2017 and 2018. Small mammals were trapped to quantify variation in the proportions of actively breeding individuals, juvenile recruitment and adult sex ratio across land use types and seasons. Breeding peaked in the wet season, reflecting a corresponding underlying peak in resource availability and quality. The mean community proportion of reproductively active individuals was greater for females (60%) than males (40%) and under pastoralism than protection or agriculture. Juvenile recruitment was the highest in the pastoral land in the dry season. Adult sex ratio was biased towards males across all land use types and seasons but towards females in the pastoral than the agricultural land. This concurs with the Trivers-Willard hypothesis that nutritionally stressed females should produce more female offspring. Two generalist and pest species (Mastomys natalensis and Arvicanthis niloticus) dominated the pastoral areas indicating human disturbance. Anthropogenic activities degrade habitats, altering population demographics and promoting habitat generalists and pest species. Protection promotes habitat intactness and reduces opportunistic pests typically abundant in disturbed landscapes. Consequently, enhancing conservation around protected areas can improve diversity and control the abundance of opportunistic pest species.

Local communities living adjacent to protected areas (PA) play a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Understanding communities' use and perceptions of a PA will increase its conservation effectiveness through reducing anthropogenic pressures and improving park-people relationship. This study assessed local communities' dependency on the PA and perceptions of benefits and costs accrued from the PA. Using a distance-based stratified random sampling, a total of 230 households from 10 villages around the Indawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary (IWS), in Myanmar, were interviewed. Results showed that 51.3% of local households were dependent on the PA for household income generation and their dependency was determined by the landscape ecology of the residential place. Communities living close to the alluvial area relied the most on the PA due to their lack of permanent agricultural land. Results also showed that although people generated income from the PA, their appreciations of PA's benefits were not significant. However, communities' perceptions of the costs incurred from the PA varied significantly with their resource dependency level, distance from the PA, gender and ethnicity. To promote people's acceptance of the park, this study suggests that future PA management should focus on balancing benefits and costs of the most resource-dependent communities and conservation initiatives should be designed to be supplementary to local economic needs.

This study was conducted to evaluate perceptions of communities surrounding the Swagaswaga Game Reserve regarding the impact of the proposed Hoima-Tanga crude oil pipeline on biodiversity loss. The pipeline will transect the game reserve and some of the neighbouring villages. The study involved 156 randomly selected respondents from four purposefully selected villages located at 0 to 10 km and 11 to 20 km from the game reserve. The respondents comprised 55 females and 101 males, aged between 20 and 70 years. Semi-structured questionnaire was used. Only 57% of the respondents were aware of the proposed project, and the majority of these respondents reside in villages located closer to the game reserve. Their major concern was loss of biodiversity, which was more frequently expressed by those living close to the game reserve (58.3%) than by those living further away (5%). Respondents also expressed concerns about the lack of clarity regarding land compensation. The latter was expressed significantly more frequently by respondents residing close to the game reserve. This study demonstrates the lack of community awareness about the project. The study concluded that, comprehensive community engagement in project planning coupled with technical capacity building will be a key to guaranteeing community involvement in conservation activities.

Interactions between humans and red-billed Queleas (Quelea quelea) in Kondoa District, central Tanzania, have shaped the attitudes of the local inhabitants toward these birds. These birds are considered as serious pest because they consume small grain cereal crops. The red-billed Queleas are caught and consumed as food by local communities. Harvested birds are also sold at bus stops to passengers, as well as to local villagers, as a source of household income. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of differential costs and benefits of the red-billed Quelea, as well as the socio-economic factors (education level, gender, age and economic activity) that might shape the attitudes of the local inhabitants of Kondoa. To explore their attitudes, a questionnaire survey was randomly conducted among 360 households in six villages from June to August 2012. Most of the inhabitants who incurred costs of crop damage exhibited negative attitudes toward the red-billed Quelea, despite the benefits obtained from them. In contrast, those who benefitted from harvested Quelea birds exhibited positive attitudes towards the red-billed Quelea. The most important socio-economic factors influencing both positive and negative attitudes were education and gender. In contrast, economic activity only influenced negative attitudes. To change negative attitudes towards the birds; practical, economical and applicable solutions for the Quelea pest problem are needed while considering the future conservation of the species in the area.

This study assessed communal knowledge and perceptions regarding the reintroduction of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). Questionnaires were employed to acquire information from 216 randomly selected respondents within six villages. Our results indicate that gender differences exist among respondents; more males than females correctly identified wild dogs from photo cards. Males also wanted the species to be of high conservation priority. Moreover, because of their education, more males suggested that the wild dog population should increase after being released into the Serengeti National Park (SNP). Finally, gender and education level significantly explained the variation of the outcome of answers with respect to wild dog reintroduction to SNP. The study recommends that conservation authorities should incorporate communal knowledge and perceptions during implementation of the wild dogs' reintroduction programmes.