Using local ecological knowledge to determine status and threats of the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Hainan, China

Nash, Helen C.; Wong, Michelle; Turvey, Samuel T.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.02.025

Cited by 90 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Understanding the scale and type of use of wildlife products, the drivers of commercial trade and what motivates people to hunt illegally, is crucial for developing effective interventions (TRAFFIC 2008, Duffy and St John 2013, Nash et al 2016). In the case of pangolins, the drivers of trade at a global scale are relatively well known (Heinrich et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mohapatra et al 2015, Nijman 2015, Cheng et al 2017, Gomez et al 2016 or questionnaires seeking local perceptions of hunting or trade activities (e.g. Katuwal et al 2015, Nash et al 2016 rather than asking hunters directly about their own activities and beliefs. In Asia, exceptions are: Nash et al (2016) who assessed local ecological knowledge across seven protected areas in Hainan, China; Zhang et al (2017) who gathered data from 38 informants in the northwest of Kachin State, Myanmar; Mahmood et al (2017) who interviewed an unreported number of local people in Pakistan; and Pantel and Anak (2010) who interviewed 13 individuals in Sabah, Malaysia.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A socio-economic survey of pangolin hunting in Assam, Northeast India

D’Cruze¹,

Singh²,

Mookerjee³

et al. 2018

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India has been identified as a source country for the illegal international trade in endangered pangolins, “scaly mammalian anteaters”, widely considered as the “world’s most trafficked mammal”. In this study, we investigated the involvement of hunters belonging principally to three locally prominent tribes (Biate, Dimasa and Karbi) in Assam State, Northeast India. Based on the results of interviews with 141 individuals, we conclude that all three tribal groups engaged in pangolin hunting between 2011 and 2016. Although pangolin meat is used locally, we found that hunters largely targeted pangolins for their scales and that substantial commercial gain via urban middlemen has now supplanted low-level traditional use as the primary driver for this activity. On average, each hunter captured one pangolin per year with the potential to earn 9,000 INR (135 USD) for a single animal (equating to approximately four months average income). The majority of hunters (89%) stated that pangolins were less abundant than they were five years ago, which suggests off-take is unsustainable. All hunters interviewed appeared to hunt pangolins occasionally, regardless of tribe, demography or income, which suggests that any mitigation strategy should focus on rural hunters. Whilst interventions to reduce poverty are no doubt required, we argue that such interventions alone are unlikely to be effective in reducing pangolin hunting. Rather, there is a need for co-ordinated packages of mutually reinforcing interventions to address this pangolin hunting in a more comprehensive manner. In particular, implementing a demand reduction strategy targeting urban consumers is urgently required.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A socio-economic survey of pangolin hunting in Assam, Northeast India

D’Cruze¹,

Singh²,

Mookerjee³

et al. 2018

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“…We also evaluate the reliability of local knowledge as a tool to assess the status and trends of multiple wildlife species over space and time. Although numerous studies have already proved the robustness of traditional ecological knowledge as a tool for management (Gandiwa, 2012;Pan et al, 2015;Nash et al, 2016;Brittain et al, 2018), our study contributes to improving the current knowledge on the state and trends in wildlife composition by integrating the spatial and temporal scales, although a similar study has been conducted in D. R. Congo (van Vliet et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Declining Ungulate Populations in an African Rainforest: Evidence From Local Knowledge, Ecological Surveys, and Bushmeat Records

2019

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Sound wildlife management requires an awareness about the trends in animal composition and abundance by all stakeholders, including local peoples. Hunters (n = 255) from two adjacent community hunting zones (CHZ) in southeast Cameroon were interviewed about the species composition of the animals killed using snare traps between 1952 and 2015-2016 and the drivers of change. The comparison of the perceived spatial and temporal trends in game composition to those from transect surveys and bushmeat records conducted in the area since the nineties evidenced the followings: (1) hunters are aware of the coarse changes in prey abundance, even for the species for which population density is difficult to estimate using more conventional survey methods; (2) in southeast Cameroon and in forests regions with similar fauna, the bay duiker (Cephalophus dorsalis) and the Peter's duiker (C. callipygus) are clearly more abundant than the white-bellied duiker (C. leucogaster) and black-fronted duiker (C. nigrifrons); (3) the two sites surveyed are at different stages of prey depletion, and (4) perception of prey composition is consistent with village-based bushmeat records and is likely to reflect more the species compositions in anthropogenic forest mosaics, where hunting is more frequent. Hunters' interviews constitute a valuable means to rapidly assess the status and trends in animal populations. However, the discrepancies between perceptions and prey composition in remote forest areas, combined with the assumption that shifting baseline syndrome is operating, highlight the need of caution when using local knowledge to generalize trends in fauna assemblages over large geographical and temporal scales.

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“…The importance of using evidence-based conservation to inform effective management decisions is increasingly recognized by conservation researchers and practitioners (Sutherland et al 2004;Segan et al 2010;Nash et al 2016). The use of genetics to inform evidence-based management decisions for highly threatened species can improve conservation outcomes (Allendorf et al 2010;Corlett 2016;Pierson et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation genomics reveals possible illegal trade routes and admixture across pangolin lineages in Southeast Asia

et al. 2018

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The use of genome-wide genetic markers is an emerging approach for informing evidence-based management decisions for highly threatened species. Pangolins are the most heavily trafficked mammals across illegal wildlife trade globally, but Critically Endangered Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) have not been widely studied in insular Southeast Asia. We used > 12,000 single nucleotide polymorphic markers (SNPs) to assign pangolin seizures from illegal trade of unknown origin to possible geographic sources via genetic clustering with pangolins of known origin. Our SNPs reveal three previously unrecognized genetic lineages of Sunda pangolins, possibly from Borneo, Java and Singapore/Sumatra. The seizure assignments suggest the majority of pangolins were traded from Borneo to Java. Using mitochondrial markers did not provide the same resolution of pangolin lineages, and to explore if admixture might explain these differences, we applied sophisticated tests of introgression using > 2,000 SNPs to investigate secondary gene flow between each of the three Sunda pangolin lineages. It is possible the admixture which we discovered is due to human-mediated movements of pangolins. Our findings impact a range of conservation actions, including tracing patterns of trade, repatriation of rescue animals, and conservation breeding. In order to conserve genetic diversity, we suggest that, pending further research, each pangolin lineage should as a precaution be protected and managed as an evolutionarily distinct conservation unit.

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Using local ecological knowledge to determine status and threats of the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) in Hainan, China

Cited by 90 publications

References 49 publications

A socio-economic survey of pangolin hunting in Assam, Northeast India

A socio-economic survey of pangolin hunting in Assam, Northeast India

Declining Ungulate Populations in an African Rainforest: Evidence From Local Knowledge, Ecological Surveys, and Bushmeat Records

Conservation genomics reveals possible illegal trade routes and admixture across pangolin lineages in Southeast Asia

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