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.     

Socio-economic aspects of the tiger shark diving industry within the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area,South Africa

Understanding socio-economic aspects of the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier diving industry, including information on participant expectations, experiences and expenditure, is necessary for the effective management of the Aliwal Shoal Marine Protected Area on the east coast of South Africa. Between January and December 2007, a total of 2 133 tiger shark dives was conducted by 1 065 divers (95% CI = 946-1 198). Data were collected by means of the administration of a semi-structured survey questionnaire to 197 (18.6%) dive participants. Respondents indicated that the direct value of tiger shark diving to the Aliwal Shoal region was R12 405 274 (95% CI = R10 777 324-14 228 541). A total of 1 000 Monte Carlo simulations was used to estimate confidence intervals. On a ranking from one (poor) to five (excellent), the average participant response to overall quality of dive and standard of dive operator was 4.6 and 4.7 respectively. The majority of divers (98.0%) observed a tiger shark, at an average of four per dive. Although tiger sharks approached to an average distance of 1.6 m from divers, the majority (95.9%) felt safe and enjoyed the experience. The majority of interviewees (88.5%) supported the use of chumming for a closer ‘tiger shark experience’.     

A context-sensitive correlated random walk: a new simulation model for movement

Computational Movement Analysis focuses on the characterization of the trajectory of individuals across space and time. Various analytic techniques, including but not limited to random walks, Brownian motion models, and step selection functions have been used for modeling movement. These fall under the rubric of signal models which are divided into deterministic and stochastic models. The difficulty of applying these models to the movement of dynamic objects (e.g. animals, humans, vehicles) is that the spatiotemporal signal produced by their trajectories a complex composite that is influenced by the Geography through which they move (i.e. the network or the physiography of the terrain), their behavioral state (i.e. hungry, going to work, shopping, tourism, etc.), and their interactions with other individuals. This signal reflects multiple scales of behavior from the local choices to the global objectives that drive movement. In this research, we propose a stochastic simulation model that incorporates contextual factors (i.e. environmental conditions) that affect local choices along its movement trajectory. We show how actual global positioning systems observations can be used to parameterize movement and validate movement models and argue that incorporating context is essential in modeling movement.     

Genomic resources for the spotted ragged-tooth shark Carcharias taurus

Genomic data can be a useful tool in the management and conservation of biodiversity. Here, we report the development of genomic resources for the spotted ragged-tooth shark Carcharias taurus using genome-wide DNA data from Illumina next-generation sequencing. We explored two commonly used genetic marker types: microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA. A total of 4 394 putative microsatellites were identified, of which 10 were tested on 24 individuals and found to have ideal properties for population genetic analyses. Additionally, we reconstructed the first complete mitochondrial genome of a South African spotted ragged-tooth shark, and highlight the most informative gene regions to facilitate future primer design. The data reported here may serve as a resource for future studies and can ultimately be applied in the sustainable conservation and fisheries management of this apex predator.     

Under the billiard table: Animality,anecdote and the tiger's subversive significance at the Raffles Hotel

At the turn of the twentieth century, when tigers were already becoming extinct in Singapore, a living specimen was discovered under the Billiard Room of the Raffles Hotel. This paper attempts to discuss the significance of the tiger in relation to an architectural space – the Billiard Room of a Southeast Asian colonial hotel – by examining how its anecdotal forms – as propaganda, fact, myth and satire – have influenced perceptions of this space across different milieu. It argues that the tiger anecdote, while ontologically remote from the physical materiality of that building, has inevitably become inseparable from its architectural epistemology. Under these terms, it is impossible to talk about the architecture of the Billiard Room without incurring discussion about the factual, fictional and propagandistic aspects of the animal anecdote. As a subtext to these narratives, the location of the hotel in a tropical clime is key. Amidst the civil calm of the genteel Billiard Room, it is the tiger, which ably performs, or re‐enacts, the risk of the tropics. Yet, what is unusual about this tiger is that a reading of its anecdotal forms ultimately transgresses the stereotypes associated with colonialism, indigenous culture, tropical living and wildlife, and subsequently, these too affect interpretations of the architectural space. Drawing on original archival and historical material, the paper contributes to a theoretical and historical understanding of why the tiger under the Billiard Room at the Raffles' continues to be a spatially compelling idea.     

Event chronostratigraphy: A high-resolution tool for dating the recent past

The most recent part of the geological timescale presents us with some of the greatest challenges for dating. With the exception of ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U methods, whose use is restricted to rather specific depositional environments, there is no established geochronometric tool capable of dating more than a fraction of the recent past at a resolution adequate to tackle the environmental issues of this period. Event stratigraphy, the investigation of comparatively rare and abrupt occurrences that leave some trace in the stratigraphic record, has been widely employed as a means of correlation and dating of older geological strata. Yet this approach has frequently been overlooked in efforts to establish chronologies of the recent past. It is ironic, therefore, that because of the acceleration of human activity, stratigraphic events have almost certainly occurred with greater frequency over the last few centuries than at any preceding time in Earth history. Because the history of human-induced events is usually well-established, the markers of such events have immense chronostratigraphic value. They may be employed in circumstances in which radiometric techniques may not be suitable, and may offer higher-resolution dates than those associated with conventional dating methods. Dated event horizons may also provide the essential means by which to validate geochronometric analyses of the recent past.Event markers may be divided into those that produce discontinuities in the rock record and those (of much greater value in the terrestrial deposits that are the focus of most investigations of the recent past) that leave some tangible signal in the rocks. These signals may be the result of either natural factors or human-induced processes, and may occur in a range of temporal contexts. They may mark the instant of occurrence of a short-lived phenomenon, or they may represent the abrupt disappearance or sudden appearance of some feature. This paper reviews each of these markers, focussing specifically on their application to the chronology of the recent past and the global environmental transformation that has taken place during this time.     

Regional variations in trace element concentrations in tissues of black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon (Decapoda: Penaeidae) from South Vietnam

The goal of the present study was to examine the specific bioaccumulation of 22 trace elements in muscle, exoskeleton and hepatopancreas of black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon from the Mekong River Delta (MRD), and the South Key Economic Zone (SKEZ), South Vietnam. The general tendency in most trace element concentrations among different tissues were hepatopancreas > exoskeleton > muscle. Comparisons of trace element levels in tissues between the two regions showed that concentrations of Se in muscle and As in all three tissues were higher in SKEZ; whereas in MRD, the higher concentrations of most elements such as Mn, Cu, Cd, Ba, Hg, were observed in tissues. These geographical variations in trace element levels may reflect the differences in human activities between the two regions of South Vietnam. The target hazard quotient (THQ) values for trace elements (<1) indicate that local residents are not exposed to potential health risks via the consumption of shrimp.     

不同盐度对龙虎斑生长和摄食的影响

在盐度5、10、15、20、25、30条件下,以全人工配合饵料饲喂龙虎斑[鞍带石斑鱼(Epinephelus lanceolatus♂)×棕点石斑鱼(E.fuscoguttatus♀)]60 d,研究不同盐度对龙虎斑生长和摄食的影响。结果表明,不同盐度对龙虎斑生长的影响有统计学意义(P0.05),盐度5~20组增长率、特定生长率均高于盐度25、30组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05),盐度10组的增长率最高,为55.08%,盐度15组的特定生长率最大,为2.30%/d,盐度和龙虎斑生长速率的回归方程为K=0.000 09 S 4-0.006 S 3+0.131 S 2-1.055 S+4.832(R 2=0.984);不同盐度对龙虎斑的摄食率和饵料系数影响有统计学意义(P0.05),盐度15组的摄食率最高,为1.64%/d,其次为盐度10组,为1.60%/d,饵料系数在盐度15组最低,为0.820,其次为盐度10组,为0.827。因此,龙虎斑在低盐度条件下生长比高盐度快,摄食率高,饵料利用率高,最佳生长盐度为10~15。     

红鳍东方鲀精子形态的研究

实验研究红鳍东方精子形态的超微结构：红鳍东方精子分头部和尾部等两部分。头部似炮弹状,无顶体;核内有空隙,空隙中有或无少量电子致密小颗粒;细胞膜与核膜间的原生质有向外鼓起的单个小液泡;中心粒复合体位于植入窝内,由近端中心粒、中心粒间体和基体等组成。袖套位于核后端,内含７～８个环列的线粒体球。尾部近核端部分鞭毛的一侧有小囊泡群聚的囊泡鞘;远核端部分有侧鳍;囊泡鞘和侧鳍与轴丝的中央微管同在“Ｙ”轴上;轴丝为“９＋２”结构。     

Assessment and Management Strategies for Ungulate Population in Jiangxi Matoushan National Nature Reserve: Predicting the Prey-base from Empirical Field Data

In order to investigate the feasibility of reintroducing the South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) in the Jiangxi Matoushan National Nature Reserve, field surveys were conducted to assess prey distribution in the reserve. Twelve permanent transects were set in three distinct functional zones from February to April 2012 and May to July 2013. A total of 112 ungulate signs were recorded on these transects. In addition, 20 camera traps were used to survey ungulates and predators in 2012, while the following year we extended the survey site by using 30 cameras. Overall, 6641 capture events on 2930 camera days were obtained, presenting a variety of ungulate species: muntjak (Muntiacus muntjak), tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus), serow (Capricornis sumatraensis) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Population structure and composition of ungulates was compared in different functional zones using a single factor of variance analysis in SPSS software. Significant differences in the distribution of ungulates were recognized between the core zone and experimental zone, but not in other zones due to differences in habitat types and management practices of the nature reserve. Using ArcGIS analysis and Salford Predictive Modeler software, we ran several predictive models to understand which areas are most suitable for ungulates. We conclude that muntjac and wild boar are mainly distributed in the experimental zone, serow are more common in the core zone, while tufted deer are located evenly in the three functional zones. Finally, suggestions for effective and feasible management strategies and techniques for Matoushan National Nature Reserve were recommended based on the results and analysis in this study.