High carnivore population density highlights the conservation value of industrialised sites

Loock, Daan; Williams, Samual T.; Emslie, Kevin W.; Matthews, Wayne; Swanepoel, Lourens H.

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34936-0

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…These processes that we have reviewed for Spain will most likely take place in other countries that are in a similar socioeconomic state to that of Spain,60-70 years ago. This situation applies to other southern European countries (such as Portugal or Greece), countries in Latin America (such as Costa Rica as well as some regions in Mexico), several regions of Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia), and some growing African economies such as Kenya (Loock et al, 2018). It can even be relevant for some western states of the United States of North America in which the demographic transition took place relatively late (Hansen et al, 2002).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological consequences of human depopulation of rural areas on wildlife: A unifying perspective

Martínez‐Abraín

Jiménez

Jiménez³

et al. 2020

Biological Conservation

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological consequences of human depopulation of rural areas on wildlife: A unifying perspective

Martínez‐Abraín

Jiménez

Jiménez³

et al. 2020

Biological Conservation

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“…We fitted a multi-session model to our data, in which each reserve was treated as a single session 67 . We fitted half-normal, hazard rate, and negative exponential detection functions to the data, and retained the function with the lowest Akaike information criterion corrected for small sample sizes (AICc) 68 . The best supported spatial detection function was hazard rate, and this was used in subsequent models (Table S5 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…RAI values were standardised as z-scores 75 . Covariates were included separately in each model, and models were compared using AIC c 68 . We retained all models with ΔAIC c < 2 76 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assumptions about fence permeability influence density estimates for brown hyaenas across South Africa

Williams

Welch

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Wildlife population density estimates provide information on the number of individuals in an area and influence conservation management decisions. Thus, accuracy is vital. A dominant feature in many landscapes globally is fencing, yet the implications of fence permeability on density estimation using spatial capture-recapture modelling are seldom considered. We used camera trap data from 15 fenced reserves across South Africa to examine the density of brown hyaenas (Parahyaena brunnea). We estimated density and modelled its relationship with a suite of covariates when fenced reserve boundaries were assumed to be permeable or impermeable to hyaena movements. The best performing models were those that included only the influence of study site on both hyaena density and detection probability, regardless of assumptions of fence permeability. When fences were considered impermeable, densities ranged from 2.55 to 15.06 animals per 100 km2, but when fences were considered permeable, density estimates were on average 9.52 times lower (from 0.17 to 1.59 animals per 100 km2). Fence permeability should therefore be an essential consideration when estimating density, especially since density results can considerably influence wildlife management decisions. In the absence of strong evidence to the contrary, future studies in fenced areas should assume some degree of permeability in order to avoid overestimating population density.

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“…Spatial capture-recapture studies of aardwolf density are similarly limited, with only two published estimates from Kenya and Botswana [25,26]. A few more surveys have been carried out for serval in Southern Africa [26][27][28][29], and Western and Central Africa [30,31], revealing large variations in density across the species' range. The lack of estimates and the disparity in published results suggest the need to investigate additional populations of serval, striped hyaena and aardwolf in areas where robust estimates do not exist.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Density responses of lesser-studied carnivores to habitat and management strategies in southern Tanzania’s Ruaha-Rungwa landscape

Hardouin

Searle²,

Strampelli³

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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Compared to emblematic large carnivores, most species of the order Carnivora receive little conservation attention despite increasing anthropogenic pressure and poor understanding of their status across much of their range. We employed systematic camera trapping and spatially explicit capture-recapture modelling to estimate variation in population density of serval, striped hyaena and aardwolf across the mixed-use Ruaha-Rungwa landscape in southern Tanzania. We selected three sites representative of different habitat types, management strategies, and levels of anthropogenic pressure: Ruaha National Park’s core tourist area, dominated by Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets; the Park’s miombo woodland; and the neighbouring community-run MBOMIPA Wildlife Management Area, also covered in Acacia-Commiphora. The Park’s miombo woodlands supported a higher serval density (5.56 [Standard Error = ±2.45] individuals per 100 km2) than either the core tourist area (3.45 [±1.04] individuals per 100 km2) or the Wildlife Management Area (2.08 [±0.74] individuals per 100 km2). Taken together, precipitation, the abundance of apex predators, and the level of anthropogenic pressure likely drive such variation. Striped hyaena were detected only in the Wildlife Management Area and at low density (1.36 [±0.50] individuals per 100 km2), potentially due to the location of the surveyed sites at the edge of the species’ global range, high densities of sympatric competitors, and anthropogenic edge effects. Finally, aardwolf were captured in both the Park’s core tourist area and the Wildlife Management Area, with a higher density in the Wildlife Management Area (13.25 [±2.48] versus 9.19 [±1.66] individuals per 100 km2), possibly as a result of lower intraguild predation and late fire outbreaks in the area surveyed. By shedding light on three understudied African carnivore species, this study highlights the importance of miombo woodland conservation and community-managed conservation, as well as the value of by-catch camera trap data to improve ecological knowledge of lesser-studied carnivores.

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High carnivore population density highlights the conservation value of industrialised sites

Cited by 19 publications

References 65 publications

Ecological consequences of human depopulation of rural areas on wildlife: A unifying perspective

Ecological consequences of human depopulation of rural areas on wildlife: A unifying perspective

Assumptions about fence permeability influence density estimates for brown hyaenas across South Africa

Density responses of lesser-studied carnivores to habitat and management strategies in southern Tanzania’s Ruaha-Rungwa landscape

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