Assessing Presence, Decline, and Extinction for the Conservation of Difficult-to-Observe Species

Black, Simon A.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-42335-3_11

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…In the late 1800s, General Marguerite noted that barely a dozen lions remained in the Aurès mountains of northeastern Algeria, yet the area had previously been rich in numbers (Guggisberg, 1963; Haddadou, 1994). Lions were considered extirpated from Algeria and Tunisia by the 1890s, although occasional encounters continued to be reported in later decades (Black, 2016; Black, 2020).…”

Section: Lion Presence In North Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Worth noting, although occurring much later than the LAD, the earliest air flights in North Africa (aside from very occasional miliary flights in the Italo‐Turkish war and First World War; Paris, 1991) were undertaken largely by French aviators in the 1920s, later becoming air postal services. The significance of these early flights rests on the one known photograph of a living wild Barbary lion (Figure 2), taken by Marcelin Flandrin from an aeroplane during a flight over the southern High Atlas Mountains of Morocco in 1925 (Black et al, 2013; Black, 2020). This occasion was the first time that flights were conducted in that region.…”

Section: Landscape Connections To the Dioramamentioning

confidence: 99%

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The natural history of lions in North Africa and the relevance of their depiction in the “Lions Attacking a Dromedary” diorama

Fellous‐Djardini,

Yamaguchi,

Al Hikmani

et al. 2023

Curator The Museum Journal

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The diorama “Lions Attacking a Dromedary” is notorious, not just as a remarkable 19th century example of taxidermy, but also its controversial representation of human culture and animals, its questionable accuracy and the murky ethics of the materials sourced for its construction. This study examines whether the diorama is a reasonable representation of the Barbary lion in North Africa. We review the history of lions in North Africa and their interaction with humans in the 19th and 20th centuries. The ecology and biology of North African lions, supported by scientific knowledge of the species, enables assessment of the value of diorama depiction, whether it is realistic and informative, or an artistic interpretation, or mere fiction. Furthermore, if the depiction is fictional, whether the representation is entirely unrepresentative, or at worst a stereotypic fabrication based on Western colonial perspectives of the 1800s. The paper does not explore cultural aspects, although refers to the experiences of people in local communities as well as colonial visitors through 150 documented accounts of lions in the region (modern day Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) between 1830 and 1960. The analysis explores whether real experiences are reflected in the depiction presented in the diorama and identifies that some aspects of the exhibit can be considered authentic, while others appear to emphasize drama rather than lived reality. Recommendations are offered for well‐informed future presentation of “Lions Attacking a Dromedary.”

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Section: Lion Presence In North Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Landscape Connections To the Dioramamentioning

confidence: 99%

The natural history of lions in North Africa and the relevance of their depiction in the “Lions Attacking a Dromedary” diorama

Fellous‐Djardini,

Yamaguchi,

Al Hikmani

et al. 2023

Curator The Museum Journal

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“…58,59 In addition, engaging commitment of communities may enable access to local knowledge of the predator species presence and ecology that might not be known and therefore be of direct importance to species conservation. 60…”

Section: Perceived and Functional Effectiveness Of Predator Controlsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of predator controls to address human wildlife conflict

Black¹,

Talbert²,

Leslie³

2020

IJAWB

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Conservation professionals are becoming more proactive in collaborating with local communities when developing strategies for coexisting with predators. Community perceptions are, however, often still ignored including the social dynamics underlying residents’ relationships with predator species and people’s attitudes towards solutions that are suggested within conservation interventions. The effectiveness of interventions to mitigate or eliminate conflict are highly dependent on the context of the conflict, the landscape and communities involved as well as species behavior. Human-predator conflict persists in most landscapes where predators and livestock overlap spatially, and in many regions farmers and pastoralists are experiencing increased losses from felids, bears, and canids. How communities perceive the risk of predators to their livelihoods and the efficacy of methods to reduce risk are important factors for building local support and long-term success of conservation. While researchers often focus on quantitative measures of risk and efficacy of prevention tools, the negative impacts to wildlife stemming from human-predator conflict is emotionally and culturally driven by the communities that are being affected. The importance of perception is often overlooked in human wildlife conflict studies but is crucial to understand for development of long-term success in conflict reduction strategies.

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“…ENMs are also employed to estimate the geographic ranges and habitat requirements of species that are elusive, inconspicuous, and hard to study and detect in the wild (Coudrat & Nekaris, 2013), that is, cryptic species that are hard to visually differentiate from each other (Bickford et al, 2007), and to study the distributions of poorly studied and newly described taxa (Aguilar et al, 2013; Rissler & Apodaca, 2007). The presence and absence of such species within a specific study site is often difficult to determine, and this is highly problematic for their effective conservation (Black, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat and ecological niche characteristics of the elusive Hairy‐eared Dwarf Lemur (Allocebus trichotis) with updated occurrence and geographic range data

Schüßler

Rabemananjara

Radriarimanga

et al. 2023

American J Primatol

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Ecological niche modeling (ENM) is particularly useful in the study of cryptic and elusive species that are only rarely seen, difficult to study in the wild, and simultaneously threatened by a multitude of anthropogenic factors. We collected presence records one such example, the understudied Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur (Allocebus trichotis), from the literature and supplemented these with observations from surveys in previously unstudied areas to model its fundamental and realized niche throughout Madagascar.We further evaluated habitat characteristics at each sighting location to judge its conservation status and its adaptability toward habitat degradation. We found 31 presence localities in the literature and directly observed A. trichotis a further 23 times.According to the ENMs, precipitation of the driest quarter and maximum temperature of the warmest month mostly influenced its distribution, restricting it to the higher altitudes of the northeastern humid forests of Madagascar. Its fundamental niche, extent of occurrence, and area of occupancy were estimated as 65,819, 53,054, and 16,967 km² respectively. The latter, however, declined by 29.2% since 1990. On a habitat level, it was most often observed in primary forest habitats of different degradation stages (85.7%, n = 21). The fundamental niche of A. trichotis is most likely restricted by climatic factors. Although it can be found in moderately degraded forests, it is known to depend on the availability of tree holes and therefore old-growth forest structures. Ongoing deforestation and habitat fragmentation are likely to be the major threats to the survival of this species. Our ENMs provide evidence on where to intensify survey efforts on the elusive Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemurs of Madagascar.

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Assessing Presence, Decline, and Extinction for the Conservation of Difficult-to-Observe Species

Cited by 9 publications

References 97 publications

The natural history of lions in North Africa and the relevance of their depiction in the “Lions Attacking a Dromedary” diorama

The natural history of lions in North Africa and the relevance of their depiction in the “Lions Attacking a Dromedary” diorama

Use of predator controls to address human wildlife conflict

Habitat and ecological niche characteristics of the elusive Hairy‐eared Dwarf Lemur (Allocebus trichotis) with updated occurrence and geographic range data

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