Targets for protecting predatory species often fail to consider the human costs of conservation. Human–wildlife interactions can increase following conservation action and present a major ecological ...and socioeconomic challenge. Using semistructured interviews (n = 103), participatory mapping (n = 57) and Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (50 h) we investigated fisher‐shark interactions in one of the world's principal shark sanctuaries. Seventy‐three percent of respondents reported an increase in shark depredation postsanctuary implementation. Fisher‐reported losses due to shark depredation varied significantly between fisheries and were disproportionately high for reef fishers (>21% of daily vessel earnings). This is attributed to extensive spatial overlap (55%–78%) between reef fishing activity and ecologically validated shark hotspots. We show significant correlations between perceptions of depredation and support for shark sanctuary regulations. Findings demonstrate the need to consider fisher–shark interactions in current and future conservation planning and suggest that management of depredation must be sensitive to diverging perceptions among fisher groups.
The Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (Barda WLS) is a semi-arid ecosystem that plays an important role in the conservation of mammalian carnivores. It is essential to evaluate the population of important ...wild prey species in Barda, which has conservation implications for mammalian predators and themselves. We assessed the density, biomass, and population structure of wild prey species by surveying road (n = 10) and trail (n = 8) transects using the distance sampling framework method. We used male-to-female sex ratios and the percent contribution of each age class to assess population structure. Mean group size (MGS), median group size (Mdgs), and mean crowding (Mc) were calculated to analyze group size. Of the species studied, Indian peafowl had the highest density (51.61 ± 7.08 individuals/km
2
), followed by wild pig (10.77 ± 4.59), blue bull (3.50 ± 0.51), Indian hare (3.03 ± 0.73), and spotted deer (0.62 ± 0.04). The male-to-adult female sex ratio was biased towards females, except for Indian peafowl. All species had small group sizes except wild pigs. The results of this study can aid in its development as one of the important protected areas in Gujarat for the conservation of mammalian predators, along with framing conservation strategies for Barda WLS.
We documented prebasic flight feather molt of passerines captured in fall 2013 and 2015 at McGill Bird Observatory (MBO) in Montreal, Quebec. We recorded active molt of flight feathers (remiges) in ...11 species that do not breed on site. Flight feather molt was frequent among Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus; 64% of adults), Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina; 57%), Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla; 67%), and Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronala; 44%), and was observed less frequently in other species. The minimum stopover length of molting individuals was on average 8 times longer than that of non-molting individuals of the same species. Among Swainson's Thrushes and Yellow-rumped Warblers, far more females were undergoing molt than males, whereas for Tennessee Warblers molt was slightly more frequent among males. Frequency of molt was similar between years for most species but not Yellow-rumped Warbler, with 59% of adults captured in 2013 molting compared to none in 2015. We also observed molting site fidelity with multiyear returns of Tennessee and Nashville warblers. The use of separate breeding and molting sites is not well understood among eastern North American species, and with recent studies highlighting the importance of molt locations in western North America, we demonstrate the value in additional study of the use of discrete molt locations in the East. Received 18 January 2019. Accepted 4 December 2019.
Anthropogenic noise negatively impacts many species. One of the more insidious effects of elevated noise levels is the reduction in area over which animals are able to acoustically communicate, often ...termed communication masking. This study utilizes modeling approaches to evaluate relative levels of masking for 4 baleen whale species from the combination of current ambient noise conditions and noise from discrete vessels operating in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Acoustic data were collected using bottom-mounted autonomous recorders. One day was analyzed for each of 5 different species-specific sound types, corresponding to peaks in occurrence of fin and humpback whale songs, humpback whale social sounds, minke whale pulse trains and North Atlantic right whale gunshots. Source levels for animals and 3 categories of vessels were calculated empirically; sound propagation was modeled using Bellhop ray tracing. An agent-based modeling framework was used to calculate changes in communication space (CS) in comparison to reference conditions (10 dB lower than current ambient noise). In these single-day snapshots, current ambient noise and noise from vessels for which automatic identification system (AIS) data were available contribute most heavily to loss of CS, followed by whale-watching and fishing vessels. Right whale gunshots experience the least amount of masking, while fin, humpback and minke whale signals experience masking levels of 80% or more. While these results incorporate several simplifying assumptions, this study further develops the framework by which to comparatively quantify masking, providing information on the relative degree of masking experienced between species and allowing for important insights on the relative contributions of different anthropogenic sound sources.
The collections of the Royal Asiatic Society hold an illustrated pilgrimage scroll apparently dating from the first half of the nineteenth century. The scroll's hand painted images relate to the ...journey that a pious Shiʿi Muslim would have undertaken after the performance of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Its visual narrative continues, first to Medina and then to the Shiʿi sanctuaries in present-day Iraq, concluding in the Iranian city of Mashhad at the sanctuary of the eighth imam of the Twelver-Shiʿi creed, imam Riḍā (d. 818). The scroll was likely prepared in the early nineteenth century and acquired by the Royal Asiatic Society from its unknown previous owner sometime after 1857. In terms of chronology the pilgrimage scroll fits neatly into the period between the Niebuhr scroll, bought in Karbala in 1765, and a lithographed item most likely dating from the latter half of the nineteenth century, both of which depict a corresponding journey. The present essay's initial survey of the scroll's visual dimension, by Ulrich Marzolph, adds hitherto unknown details to the history of similar objects. The concluding report, by Mathilde Renauld, sheds light on the scroll's material condition and the difficulties encountered during the object's conservation and their solution.
In Opinicon Lake, Ontario during two non-pandemic years (2019 and 2022) the hook-wounding rates from recreational angling observed among nesting male largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (LMB), and ...nesting male smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu (SMB), were quite high, but typical of those observed in the lake over the last 20 years of monitoring. That level of illegal, preseason angling resulted in very low percentages of both LMB and SMB nesting males being successful at raising their broods to independence, rates comparable to those observed for this lake in previous years. In 2020 and 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, however, access to fishing in Ontario was severely limited during the bass spawning season, which serendipitously provided a natural “whole-lake bass spawning sanctuary” to study. Not surprisingly, the hook-wounding rates for nesting male LMB and SMB in Opinicon Lake were the lowest rates ever observed over the last 30 + years. Concomitantly, the percentage of nesting male LMB and SMB that were successful at raising their broods to independence was approximately 3–4 times greater than that in the non-COVID years. Not unexpectedly, those increases in nesting success translated to similar increases in LMB and SMB reproductive success (production of post parental care, independent fry). More importantly, those increases further resulted in large increases in the annual recruitment of both LMB and SMB. This unanticipated COVID-driven experiment revealed that using bass spawning sanctuaries would be more efficient than closed seasons as a management strategy to conserve levels of black bass annual recruitment.
●Angling pressure on nesting largemouth and smallmouth bass was reduced during COVID.●Reduced angling during COVID caused greatly increased nesting and reproductive success.●Increased reproductive success resulted in increased annual recruitment.●Bass spawning sanctuaries protect reproductive success, enhancing recruitment.●Bass tournaments during the spawning season negatively impact bass populations.
Hosting nature's "Super Bowl" Thompson, Valerie
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
08/2015, Letnik:
349, Številka:
6250
Journal Article
Recenzirano
On 31 August 2015, PBS will offer viewers a glimpse into the remarkable recovery of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, airing the first episode of a three-part series anchored in real time ...from the sanctuary's shores and seas. M. Sanjayan, a senior scientist at Conservation International and co-host of the program, offers a sneak peek of what viewers can expect to see in this Q&A. Big Blue Live Airing on PBS at 8:00 pm ET and 8:00 pm PT; 31 August, 1 September, and 2 September 2015. www.pbs.org/bigbluelive
Globally, land cover change poses a serious threat to biodiversity and climate change. Anthropogenic actions have been the dominant force among all natural and human forces shaping the Land use and ...Land cover, causing dramatic changes to the global Landuse and Land cover. The Rajparian Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kashmir Himalayas has undergone substantial changes over the past few decades, but lacks extensive assessment. A multispectral remotely sensed dataset was used to assess changes in land use and land cover of the Sanctuary over almost 27 years (1993–2021). A maximum likelihood algorithm was used to classify Landsat images for the years 1993, 2006, and 2021 and geometric correction were rectified in Earth Resources Data Analysis System (2014) software. The results of the present study indicate that the study area has undergone major changes between 1993 and 2020. Forest and snow-covered areas have shrunk, while non-forested areas like grassland, barren, scrub, built-up areas, and river beds have shown positive growth in the sanctuary. Within the studied time period, a total loss of 5.9 km
2
was recorded for the forest areas and 1.5 km
2
for the snow covered areas. The main threats driving the Land use and Land cover change in the Sanctuary were grazing pressure, natural resource exploitation, poaching, and development projects. The results of this study may potentially provide information to planners, and decision-makers for the sustainable management of natural resources and implementing important management decisions in order to preserve the rich biodiversity of the Sanctuary.
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