THE HARVEST OF RAIN–FOREST BIRDS BY INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN PANAMA*

In this article I attempt to shed light on the relationships between indigenous communities and bird populations through research on hunting in five neighboring villages in western Panama. Over eight months, 59 households captured 1,584 birds using rifles, sling‐shots, traps, and other methods, resulting in a total yield of 252 kilograms. Although hunters captured more than 125 avian species, just four species account for more than half of the total harvest. The most important game bird is the great curassow (Crax rubra), followed by the great tinamou (Tinamus major) and crested guan (Penelope purpurascens). The type and quantity of avifauna captured varies significantly according to habitat and hunting strategy. The spatial distribution of bird kill sites is highly concentrated, with 62 percent of the harvest by weight captured within just 1 kilometer of the participating households. Even the more vulnerable species are encountered close to home, suggesting that overhunting has not occurred.     

Card-carrying hunters, rural poverty, and wildlife decline in northern Côte d'Ivoire

This paper examines wildlife decline in northern Côte d'Ivoire with emphasis on the political-economic and cultural dimensions of market hunting. Hunting and the trade in wild animal meat are situated within the economic diversification strategies of impoverished farmers and the flourishing of hunter associations. The role of hunter associations is critical in the rise in the number of hunters and firearms in the case study area of Kakoli. Initiation into the national hunters' association, Binkadi, allows card-carrying members to bear arms without legal repercussions. Higher quality arms and rural poverty motivate many of these recruits to engage in market hunting. Game market surveys for 1981–82 and 1997–99 in Kakoli show tremendous pressure on both vulnerable and robust species alike. Game depletion is conceptualized as the outcome of interacting social and biophysical processes that produce hunting pressure and habitat change. By drawing attention to the political-economic, ecological, and cultural dimensions of wildlife decline, this study implicates a diversity of actors and institutions in the dynamics of game depletion.     

Changes in ecosystem carbon stocks following grassland afforestation of semiarid sandy soil in the southeastern Keerqin Sandy Lands, China

The ecological consequences of grassland afforestation in arid/semiarid sandy regions are not well known with respect to tree species and stand age. The present study quantifies the changes in above- and belowground carbon (C) stocks following afforestation in the southeastern Keerqin Sandy Lands with species of Mongolian pine and poplar. We studied 15-, 24-, and 30-year-old Mongolian pine plantations, 7-, 11-, and 15-year-old poplar plantations, and adjacent grasslands. The results show that total ecosystem C stocks increased following grassland afforestation. Aboveground C stocks increased at a rate of 2.75 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the poplar plantations, and 1.06 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ in the Mongolian pine plantations. Mineral soil C stocks decreased during the early stage of forest establishment, but recovered with increasing stand age. Root C stock increased significantly in the Mongolian pine plantations, but the poplar plantations showed no such increase relative to the grassland. Our results indicate that afforestation of the grassland in the southeastern Keerqin Sandy Lands would sequester more C than would continuous grassland. Tree species selection and stand developmental age should be considered in planning future afforestation projects.     

Political ecology of tiger conservation in India: Adverse effects of banning customary practices in a protected area

Protected areas have had significant impacts on local communities primarily through the physical removal of people. In some instances, people continue to live within protected areas due to the inability of the state to evict them. The restrictions on livelihoods placed on people living inside protected areas lead to in situ displacement. We show how conservation enclosures in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve have produced a class of people that the state ‘lets die’ by banning customary practices such as fire use, hunting and harvesting of forest produce. Using longitudinal ethnographic, socio‐economic and ecological data, we demonstrate that conservation policy has alienated indigenous forest dwellers from their agricultural and forest‐land. The outcomes of conservation policy include dispossession through increased crop losses, reduced income from agriculture and forest produce, as well as a forest that is dominated by weeds due to fire suppression. The ban on hunting in particular has increased wildlife densities, which has enabled the state to accumulate revenues through the establishment of wildlife tourism facilities. All in all, centralized protected area governance has changed the relationships among people, forest and the state in a way that has produced adverse effects for both livelihoods and the ecosystem.     

Do predator and prey foraging activity patterns match? A study of coyotes (Canis latrans), and lagomorphs (Lepus californicus and Sylvilagus audobonii)

Many aspects of an animal’s ecology are associated with activity patterns. One important and controversial one is in the predator/prey relationship. We examined temporal patterns of coyotes (Canis latrans) and lagomorphs (Lepus californicus, Sylvilagus audobonii), their main prey in the Chihuahuan Desert. We test the hypothesis that a predator and prey will have non-random distribution of activity relative to each other; this non-random activity could be a substantial overlap or the lack of synchrony depending on the competing theories. We used GPS collars to track coyotes; we identified areas of activity and determined daily patterns. We installed lagomorph feeding stations and game cameras in coyote activity areas to assess lagomorph patterns. All three species were mainly crepuscular. Black-tail jackrabbits and Audubon’s cottontail rabbits had different hourly patterns of activity (P < 0.001). Activity peaks for jackrabbits occurred between 0400-0700 h, and 1800-2000 h. Cottontail rabbit activity peaks occurred between 0500-0700 h, and 1800-2000 h. The coyote evening activity peak was synchronous with lagomorph activity, but the morning peak occurred from 0700 to 1000. We found partial lack of synchrony in the activity patterns of the predator and its prey.     

Conflict on the Range: Evaluating Driving Factors of Attitudes Toward Prey Species in Qilianshan

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a global conservation issue of increasing concern, and understanding the factors driving conflict is crucial for preventing or mitigating it. In many parts of China, large human populations and increasing development has led to an escalation in HWC with both carnivore and prey species. In this paper we assess herder attitudes toward blue sheep (Pseudaois nayaur, Hodgson, 1833), white lipped deer (Carvus albirostris, Przewalski, 1883), red deer (Cervus elaphus, Linnaeus, 1758), and marmot (Marmota himalayana Hodgson, 1841) through interview-based surveys conducted in 46 households across 8 villages in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve, Gansu, China. We also examine the perceived impact of three ecological-restoration policies (anti-grazing, sustainable grazing, and grass-planting policies) on livelihoods, and how this affects attitudes toward wildlife. Herders reported neutral attitudes toward wildlife species in general, but reported negative attitudes towards blue sheep. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that herder attitudes toward the target species varied significantly across villages, but other socioeconomic variables had limited explanatory power for attitudes. Furthermore, we found that while policy implementation was negatively perceived by herders, anti-grazing policy implementation and total policy implementation were positively correlated with positive attitudes toward wildlife, highlighting a potential gap between perceived threats and actual threats. Finally, we show that the leading cause of reported livestock death is preventable disease, alleviation of which may help improve attitudes toward wildlife.     

The Drivers of Market Integration Among Indigenous Peoples: Evidence From the Ecuadorian Amazon

Knowledge of the driving forces behind indigenous participation in the market is essential for practitioners intending to integrate conservation and development policies in indigenous territories. Nevertheless, empirical research on the determinants of market integration among indigenous peoples is still scarce. This article uses household survey data and multivariate techniques to examine the drivers of market integration among indigenous groups in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We use multiple measures of market integration, including the sale of crops, timber, and wildlife; the use of credit; and participation in wage labor. The results show that the way in which indigenous peoples integrate into the market depends on their endowments of human, financial, and physical capital. More educated households are able to engage in commercial agriculture and nonagricultural wage work, whereas uneducated poor households in communities in conflict with outsiders are pushed to engage in poorly paid agricultural wage work and (often illegal) timber operations.     

Influence of land use on the abundance of wildlife and livestock in the Kalahari,Botswana

Human land use such as pastoralism may be a key determinant of wildlife populations. We studied the influence of land use on wildlife and livestock in south-western Kalahari, Botswana, during the wet and dry seasons. We included two types of livestock areas and two types of wildlife protection areas. Wild and domestic mammals >0.2 kg were sampled by distance technique. Small mammals <0.2 kg were trapped and a vegetation survey was performed. Livestock and some medium-sized wildlife species were most abundant in livestock areas, while large-sized wildlife species were mainly restricted to wildlife areas. Most red-listed species were confined to the national park. The influence of land use on abundances changed moderately between seasons. However, cattle moved into wildlife areas during the wet season. Differences in species richness and diversity were most pronounced during the dry season. The trapping frequency of small mammals was highest in the national park. Differences in vegetation structure included sparser field layer and higher cover of an invasive shrub in livestock areas. Our study shows the importance of protected areas for many wildlife species in the Kalahari. It also shows the value of a multi-species approach for investigating the effects of land use on wildlife communities.     

Scale dependent effects in resource selection by crop-raiding Japanese macaques in Niigata Prefecture,Japan

A resource selection function is one that yields values proportional to the probability of use of a resource unit. This quantity is influenced by the heterogeneity of landscape structures, which occurs over multiple spatial scales. To provide input into wildlife management strategies, we investigated the scale dependency and functional responses of Japanese macaques using multiple scale analysis. The multiple buffers with radii of 100, 500, 1000, 1500, 2000, and 2500 m were defined as the spatial scale. Crop damage was predicted at the within-home range scale, using the Random Forests algorithm with environmental variables linked to resource selection of Japanese macaques. Sixteen environmental variables were defined, covering aspects of landscape configuration, human disturbance, topography, and adopted countermeasures. Crop damage was most accurately predicted within a buffer zone of 1000 m, although radii exceeding 1000 m were also highly accurate. Although the importance of variables differed among spatial extents, the functional responses for each environmental variable were independent of spatial extent. These results suggest that the limiting factors of crop damage depend on spatial extent, while functional responses in resource selection remain constant across spatial extents. We also compared a multi-scale gradient map with a typical binary map to demonstrate the uncertainty in damage predictions at different spatial scales. Our results may aid wildlife management planning, for which differences in resource selection across different spatial scales are critically important.     

The Spatial Knowledge of Indigenous People in Mountainous Environments: A Case Study of Three Taiwanese Indigenous Tribes

This article recounts information gleaned from a case study of three indigenous tribes in Taiwan regarding the origin and nature of their spatial knowledge. Sketched mental maps and GIS 3D virtual environment (VE) are used by indigenous elders and hunters to delineate their traditional territories. Spatial components representing the predominant spatial elements are identified. Spatial structures used for locational positioning are analyzed, as are spatial reference systems for orientation and movement. The results show that spatial components are used for daily activities, as well as having historical and cultural meaning; a quadrant structure is used for spatial positioning; and instead of using the directional reference system of east, south, west, and north, these indigenous people rely on the orientation analogies of uphill, downhill, upstream, and downstream for direction.     

Beliefs about Ecological Impacts Predict Deer Acceptance Capacity and Hunting Support

Ecological impacts of deer overbrowsing often lead resource managers to recommend deer control through hunting, which may be strongly opposed by local residents. Adaptive impact management argues that understanding wildlife impacts of concern to the public can improve wildlife management. However, research on public wildlife acceptance capacity for deer, and on support for hunting, has emphasized concerns about household impacts and deer well-being, general environmental beliefs and attitudes, and beliefs about consequences of hunting, but not public concerns about deer ecological impacts. Our survey of neighbors of urban wetlands shows that beliefs about deer ecological impacts are statistically significant predictors of deer acceptance capacity and of support for hunting, controlling for other factors. Including ecological-impact beliefs adds substantially to the explained variance in deer acceptance capacity, and slightly to the explained variance in support for hunting.     

Anomalous passive subsidence of deep‐water sedimentary basins: a prearc basin example,southern New Caledonia Trough and Taranaki Basin,New Zealand

Stratigraphic data from petroleum wells and seismic reflection analysis reveal two distinct episodes of subsidence in the southern New Caledonia Trough and deep‐water Taranaki Basin. Tectonic subsidence of ~2.5 km was related to Cretaceous rift faulting and post‐rift thermal subsidence, and ~1.5 km of anomalous passive tectonic subsidence occurred during Cenozoic time. Pure‐shear stretching by factors of up to 2 is estimated for the first phase of subsidence from the exponential decay of post‐rift subsidence. The second subsidence event occured ~40 Ma after rifting ceased, and was not associated with faulting in the upper crust. Eocene subsidence patterns indicate northward tilting of the basin, followed by rapid regional subsidence during the Oligocene and Early Miocene. The resulting basin is 300–500 km wide and over 2000 km long, includes part of Taranaki Basin, and is not easily explained by any classic model of lithosphere deformation or cooling. The spatial scale of the basin, paucity of Cenozoic crustal faulting, and magnitudes of subsidence suggest a regional process that acted from below, probably originating within the upper mantle. This process was likely associated with inception of nearby Australia‐Pacific plate convergence, which ultimately formed the Tonga‐Kermadec subduction zone. Our study demonstrates that shallow‐water environments persisted for longer and their associated sedimentary sequences are hence thicker than would be predicted by any rift basin model that produces such large values of subsidence and an equivalent water depth. We suggest that convective processes within the upper mantle can influence the sedimentary facies distribution and thermal architecture of deep‐water basins, and that not all deep‐water basins are simply the evolved products of the same processes that produce shallow‐water sedimentary basins. This may be particularly true during the inception of subduction zones, and we suggest the term ‘prearc’ basin to describe this tectonic setting.     

Kāhuli: Uncovering Indigenous Ecological Knowledge to Conserve Endangered Hawaiian Land Snails

Indigenous knowledge is a multilayered knowledge system that can inform contemporary management in both natural observations and cultural value. Centuries old observations preserved within song, chant, and story has been globally recognized as a resource to integrate with conservation efforts for endangered species. In the case of the endemic land snails, kāhuli, of the Hawaiian archipelago, there is a prominent cultural presence preserved in oral tradition and written records in 19th and early 20th century’s Hawaiian language newspapers. As we witness the dramatic decimation of one of the greatest models of species radiation, the unveiling of the repositories of indigenous knowledge is crucial for conservation of these endemic land snails. This paper reports on indigenous knowledge that informs about the cultural significance (i.e., poetic device, metaphorical role, importance to hula) and ecology of kāhuli, and how indigenous knowledge can contribute to conservation efforts of rare and endangered species.     

Modelling collective Yawuru values along the foreshore of Roebuck Bay,Western Australia using fuzzy logic

The cadastral model has played a key role in Indigenous dispossession in settler states. Yet, the recognition of Indigenous land rights, which has increased globally since the 1960s, frequently requires Indigenous communities to directly engage with this spatial model. In Australia, native title claimants must use entity-based models of space to delineate their traditional territories during the claim process. They must also engage with planning and development documents which use the cadastral model of space to assert and defend their rights following native title recognition. This is often problematic as Indigenous spatial ontologies emphasise complexity and continuity which is inimical to the ‘crisp’ representations of cadastral space.This study explores the potential of a fuzzy index modelling approach to represent cultural values using a case study from Broome, Western Australia. Sketch mapping, fuzzy index modelling and combinatory techniques were used to produce a model of several cultural values held by the Yawuru community for the in-town foreshore of Roebuck Bay. This model was overlaid on local planning documents to provide the Yawuru community with strategic intelligence for post native title governance. The experience of co-producing this model suggests that such techniques may assist Indigenous communities to engage with settler structures. This implies that policies which fail to extend analytical capacity to interested native title groups as part of programmes of spatial enablement continue to perpetuate historical processes of colonial domination.     

河南省县域学校体系规模、可达性演化特征及其分异

县域义务教育学校体系规模的合理布局、适龄儿童入学可达性对义务教育公平和均衡发展具有重要意义。采用基尼系数、齐夫指数等方法对泌阳县2004—2016年县域小学学校体系规模空间演化特征、就学可达性变化及其空间分异进行了实证研究。结果表明：研究区县域小学规模两极分化严重,学生和教师的城乡不平衡指数大大增加,首位学校以及位序靠前的学校垄断性增强,学校规模从均衡发展演化为非均衡状态;2016年入学距离在2 km范围内的自然村相比2004年略有降低,距最近完全小学在2 km范围内的自然村出现大幅降低,完全小学大幅减少,服务范围增大,覆盖度出现显著降低;2016年各乡镇学生、教师基尼系数显著增加,全县范围空间分异规律基本一致;相比2004年,2016年地形高度、距乡镇政府所在地距离对自然村入学距离影响显著增强,特别是对最近完全小学入学距离的影响更大。     

Spatial patterning of Manta birostris in United States east coast offshore habitat

This study aims to identify patterns in spatial distribution of Manta birostris along American East Coast by analyzing presence data using a suite of geostatistical techniques. Analysis of data from 1979 to 2008 revealed that the spatial patterns exhibited by the M. birostris include a strong clustering zone off the North Carolina from (however, not all years are represented in that range), Virginia and Maryland coast. Their presence is high near the coastal shelf edge and along the edge of the Gulf Stream. The mix of warm water and high chlorophyll concentration throughout the year in the region seem to create an ideal environment for this clustering pattern. However, in seasons with warmer water temperature, manta rays spread further north and inshore, possibly to avoid competition for prey. The results of geographic weighted regression indicate the role of sea surface temperatures on Manta presence or absence off the main current of the Gulf Stream near North Carolina and Virginia. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of M. birostris can assist in further protecting the species especially from dangers of by-catch and habitat degradation.     

Managing reindeer and wildlife on Alaska's Seward Peninsula

When reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus ) were introduced to Alaska's Seward Peninsula between 1892 and 1902, other ungulates were not present and large predators were either absent or less abundant than after reindeer were established. During the next 100 years reindeer numbers and distribution increased and declined precipitously on the Seward Peninsula; wildlife species repopulated this region through natural processes or translocations by man; the non-Native human population of Alaska increased dramatically and wildlife management became an issue of national concern creating diverse public desires regarding resource use; and both range and wildlife became intensively managed through complex, politicized processes. This paper provides an historical overview of reindeer and wildlife abundance on the Seward Peninsula during the 20th century and describes the effects of wildlife on the reindeer industry. Cooperative public processes have been initiated to bring diverse public interests together; meld indigenous, scientific and local knowledge of resources; and supplement governmental wildlife management programmes. Even so, the Seward Peninsula reindeer industry has been severely impacted by wildlife, especially caribou ( R. t. granti ).     

Use of GIS for a spatial and temporal analysis of Kenyan wildlife with generalised linear modelling

This paper applies generalised linear statistical techniques in a GIS to analyse wildlife data from a Kenyan wildlife reserve and its surrounding areas. Attention focuses on the spatial distribution of elephant during nine successive surveys, analysing their temporal and spatial relationship to 12 environmental covariates. A principal component analysis identifies five major determining factors, thereby reducing dimensionality in the data, while a simple spatial analysis procedure, suitable for wildlife data obtained from airborne surveys, quantfies clustering for different animal species. The number of explanatory variables appearing in abundance models is found to be subject to large variations during successive surveys with a minimum and maximum of four and eight variables, respectively. Species from highly clustered populations are found to have over 20 times more observations within short distances compared to the rest. The study concludes that a combination of generalised linear modelling and GIS gives deeper insight into the dynamics of wildlife species in and around well-defined nature reserves.     

Spatial and temporal variations in minibasin geometry and evolution in salt tectonic provinces: Lower Congo Basin,offshore Angola

In passive margin salt basins, the distinct kinematic domains of thin‐skinned extension, translation and contraction exert important controls on minibasin evolution. However, the relationship between various salt minibasin geometries and kinematic domain evolution is not clear. In this study, we use a semi‐regional 3D seismic reflection dataset from the Lower Congo Basin, offshore Angola, to investigate the evolution of a network of minibasins and intervening salt walls during thin‐skinned, gravity‐driven salt flow. Widespread thin‐skinned extension occurred during the Cenomanian to Coniacian, accommodated by numerous distributed normal faults that are typically 5–10 km long and spaced 1–4 km across strike within the supra‐salt cover. Subsequently, during the Santonian–Paleocene, multiple, 10–25 km long, 5–7 km wide depocentres progressively grew and linked along strike to form elongate minibasins separated by salt walls of comparable lengths. Simultaneous with the development of the minibasins, thin‐skinned contractional deformation occurred in the southwestern downslope part of the study area, forming folds and thrusts that are up to 20 km long and have a wavelength of 2–4 km. The elongate minibasins evolved into turtle structures during the Eocene to Oligocene. From the Miocene onwards, contraction of the supra‐salt cover caused squeezing and uplift of the salt walls, further confining the minibasin depocentres. We find kinematic domains of extension, translation and contraction control the minibasin initiation and subsequent evolution. However, we also observe variations in minibasin geometries associated with along‐strike growth and linkage of depocentres. Neighbouring minibasins may have different subsidence rates and maturity leading to marked variations in their geometry. Additionally, migration of the contractional domain upslope and multiple phases of thin‐skinned salt tectonics further complicates the spatial variations in minibasin geometry and evolution. This study suggests that minibasin growth is more variable and complex than existing domain‐controlled models would suggest.