Human-carnivore coexistence and the responses of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) to anthropogenic activity in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Human-wildlife coexistence requires rigorous, interdisciplinary evidence that promotes effective conservation and management actions. Such evidence-based approaches are conducive to coexistence between local communities and conflict-prone wildlife, such as large carnivores. Yet, little is known about the best path to gaining local community acceptance of large carnivore management strategies, the effects of anthropogenic activity on the persistence of large carnivores, and the way large carnivores interact with Threatened wildlife and local communities. This dissertation focuses on the applied ecology and conservation of large carnivores in Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tanzania, a multi-use protected area where the local Maasai community lives alongside wildlife. The three objectives of this dissertation are to: (i) identify the best predictors of the acceptance of large carnivore management strategies by local community members, (ii) assess the effects of anthropogenic activity on large carnivore fitness and physiology, and (iii) understand how large carnivores interact with Threatened wildlife and local communities in multi-use protected areas. I use an interdisciplinary approach by combining socio-psychological data from the Maasai community with long-term data on the diet, fitness, and physiology of free-ranging spotted hyenas in the NCA. In Chapter 2, I show that emotions towards and the cultural importance of large carnivores (spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), lions (Panthera leo), and leopards (Panthera pardus)) are much stronger predictors of the acceptance of large carnivore management strategies than livestock depredation is. I also show that depredation by large carnivores is a much smaller source of livestock death than disease and drought are. I demonstrate that spotted hyenas are viewed less positively than both lions and leopards are, though invasive strategies are not accepted for all three species. The results demonstrate that conservation practitioners may focus too much on livestock depredation as the main impediment to coexistence; rather, they may need to target the respectful fostering of positive emotions through community engagement, while accounting for how different species are viewed. In Chapter 3, I investigate the effect of diurnal pastoralism on fitness and physiology in the Ngorongoro Crater spotted hyena population over a 24-year period by exploiting a natural experiment: two of the Crater’s eight spotted hyena clans were exposed to the pastoralism, while the other six were not. By directly measuring the effects of pastoralism on fitness and physiology, I quantify how an anthropogenic activity affects highly conservation-relevant traits. I found no detectable difference in juvenile recruitment (fitness) nor allostatic load (physiology) between the exposed and unexposed clans, indicating that the pastoralism had no major deleterious effect on the spotted hyenas. These results suggest that exposure to anthropogenic activity may be compatible with the persistence of group-living large carnivores, if spatiotemporal overlap between the species’ key behaviors and the activity is limited. Finally, in Chapter 4, I use fecal DNA metabarcoding to show that the Ngorongoro Crater spotted hyena population does not regularly consume the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), a Critically Endangered species. I also show that spotted hyenas at least occasionally leave the Crater to forage, based on detections of both Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) and domestic animals. Furthermore, I found a positive association between spotted hyena age and the propensity to consume domestic animals, which has implications for conflict mitigation. This dissertation sheds light on (i) the most important variables to target when seeking to gain local acceptance for large carnivore management strategies, (ii) the effects of anthropogenic activity on the fitness and physiology of large carnivores, and (iii) how large carnivores interact with Threatened wildlife and local communities in multi-use protected areas. Altogether, this dissertation is expected to provide valuable knowledge for the optimization of evidence-based large carnivore conservation and human-carnivore coexistence.Die Koexistenz von Menschen und Wildtieren erfordert gezielte, interdisziplinäre Evidenz, um effektive Schutz- und Bewirtschaftungsmaßnahmen zu etablieren. Solche evidenzbasierten Ansätze sind von zentraler Bedeutung um die Koexistenz zwischen lokalen Gemeinschaften und zu Konflikten neigenden Wildtieren, wie z. B. Großraubtieren zu verbessern. Es ist jedoch nur wenig darüber bekannt, wie die Akzeptanz der lokalen Bevölkerung für Strategien zur Bewirtschaftung von Großraubtieren am besten erreicht werden kann, welche Auswirkungen anthropogene Aktivitäten auf den Fortbestand von Großraubtieren haben und wie Großraubtiere mit bedrohten Arten und lokalen Gemeinschaften interagieren. Diese Dissertation konzentriert sich auf die angewandte Ökologie und den Schutz Großraubtiere in der Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tansania, eine vielseitig genutzte Landschaft, in dem die lokalen Gemeinschaften von Massai-Hirten neben Wildtieren lebt. Die drei Hauptziele der Dissertation beschäftigen sich mit: (i) der Identifizierung der besten Prädiktoren für die Akzeptanz verschiedener Managementstrategien für Großraubtiere bei Mitgliedern der lokalen Gemeinschaft, (ii) der Bestimmung des Einflusses tageszeitlicher Weidehaltung auf die Fortpflanzungserfolg und Physiologie in Gruppen lebenden Großraubtiere, (iii) verstehen wie Großraubtiere mit bedrohten Arten und lokalen Gemeinschaften in vielseitig genutzten Landschaften interagieren. In dieser Dissertation verwende ich einen interdisziplinären Ansatz, indem ich sozio-psychologische Daten der Massai-Gemeinschaft mit Langzeitdaten über die Ernährung, Fortpflanzungserfolg und Physiologie von Tüpfelhyänen aus einer freilebenden Population in der NCA kombiniere. In Kapitel 2 zeige ich, dass die Emotionen gegenüber und die kulturelle Bedeutung von Großraubtieren (Tüpfelhyänen, Löwen (Panthera leo) und Leoparden (Panthera pardus)) weitaus mehr Einfluss auf die Akzeptanz von Managementmaßnahmen für Großraubtiere haben als es die Gefährdung von Viehbeständen hat. Ich zeige auch, dass die Verluste durch Großraubtiere eine deutlich seltenere Ursache für den Tod von Nutztieren sind als Krankheiten und Dürre. Insgesamt wurden Tüpfelhyänen weniger positiv bewertet als Löwen und Leoparden, obwohl invasive Strategien bei allen drei Arten abgelehnt wurde. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich Naturschützer möglicherweise zu sehr auf die Viehtötung als Haupthindernis für die Koexistenz konzentrieren; stattdessen wäre es möglicherweise besser sich auf eine respektvolle Stärkung positiver Emotionen durch das Engagement der Gemeinschaft zu konzentrieren und dabei zu berücksichtigen, wie die verschiedenen Arten von der lokalen Gemeinschaft angesehen werden. In Kapitel 3 untersuche ich die Auswirkungen der Tagesweidehaltung auf die Rekrutierung von Jungtieren und die allostatische Belastung der Tupfelhyänenpopulation im Ngorongoro-Krater über einen Zeitraum von 24 Jahren, indem ich ein natürliches Experiment nutze: zwei der acht Tupfelhyänen Clans im Krater waren der Weidehaltung ausgesetzt, die anderen sechs nicht. Durch die direkte Messung der Auswirkungen der Weidewirtschaft auf den Fortpflanzungserfolg und die physiologischen Merkmale quantifiziere ich, wie sich eine anthropogene Aktivität auf äußerst naturschutzrelevante Eigenschaften der Tupfelhyänen auswirkt. Ich konnte keinen nachweisbaren Unterschied bei der Rekrutierung von Jungtieren (Fitness) oder der allostatischen Belastung (Physiologie) zwischen den exponierten und den nicht exponierten Clans feststellen. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass die Weidewirtschaft keine wesentlichen nachteiligen Auswirkungen auf die Tüpfelhyänen hatte. Diese Ergebnisse lassen darauf schließen, dass die Exposition gegenüber anthropogenen Aktivitäten mit dem Fortbestand gruppenlebender Großraubtiere vereinbar sein kann, wenn die räumlich-zeitliche Überlappung zwischen den wichtigsten Verhaltensweisen der Art und den anthropogenen Aktivitäten begrenzt ist. In Kapitel 4 schließlich zeige ich anhand von fäkalen DNA-Metabarkodierungen, dass die Tüpfelhyänenpopulation im Ngorongoro-Krater nicht regelmäßig vom Aussterben bedrohte Arten wie Spitzmaulnashörner (Diceros bicornis), fressen. Basierend auf DNA-Nachweisen von Massai-Giraffen (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) und Haustieren in den Kotproben, zeige ich außerdem, dass Tüpfelhyänen zumindest gelegentlich den Krater zur Nahrungssuche verlassen. Darüber hinaus wurde ein positiver Zusammenhang zwischen dem Alter der Tupfelhyänen und der Neigung zum Verzehr von Haustieren festgestellt, was Hinweise zum für das Konfliktmanagement liefert. Diese Dissertation gibt Aufschluss über (i) die wichtigsten Variablen zur Verbesserung der lokalen Akzeptanz von Managementstrategien für Großraubtiere, (ii) die Auswirkungen anthropogener Aktivitäten auf den Fortpflanzungserfolg und Physiologie von Großraubtieren und (iii) die Art und Weise, wie Großraubtiere mit bedrohten Arten und lokalen Gemeinschaften in vielseitig genutzten Landschaften interagieren. Zusammenfassend sollte diese Dissertation wertvolles Wissen für die Optimierung des evidenzbasierten Großraubtierschutzes und die Koexistenz von lokalen Gemeinschaften und Raubtieren

Drivers of habitat availability for terrestrial mammals: Unravelling the role of livestock, land conversion and intrinsic traits in the past 50 years

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity of fine-scale habitat conversion maps, however, accurate assessment of the recent effects of habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation on the range of mammals has been near impossible. We aim to assess the proportions of available habitat within the lost and retained parts of mammals' distribution ranges, and to identify the drivers of habitat availability. We produced distribution maps for 475 terrestrial mammals for the range they occupied 50 years ago and compared them to current range maps. We then calculated the differences in the percentage of 'area of habitat' (habitat available to a species within its range) between the lost and retained range areas. Finally, we ran generalized linear mixed models to identify which variables were more influential in determining habitat availability in the lost and retained parts of the distribution ranges. We found that 59% of species had a lower proportion of available habitat in the lost range compared to the retained range, thus hypothesizing that habitat loss could have contributed to range declines. The most important factors negatively affecting habitat availability were the conversion of land to rangeland and high density of livestock. Significant intrinsic traits were those related to reproductive timing and output, habitat breadth and medium body size. Our findings emphasize the importance of implementing conservation strategies to mitigate the impacts caused by human activities on the habitats of mammals, and offer evidence indicating which species have the potential to reoccupy portions of their former range if other threats cease to occur.This study investigates the impact of habitat degradation on terrestrial mammal species. By comparing historic and current distribution maps for 475 species, we found that 59% of them have less available habitat in their lost ranges, suggesting habitat loss contributed to range declines. Factors like land conversion to rangeland and high livestock density negatively affected habitat availability. Intrinsic traits such as reproductive timing, habitat breadth and medium body size also played a role. The study underscores the need for conservation efforts to mitigate human-induced habitat threats and identifies species that could potentially reclaim lost range if threats are addressed.imag

Breast cancer management pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the UK ‘Alert Level 4’ phase of the B-MaP-C study

Abstract: Background: The B-MaP-C study aimed to determine alterations to breast cancer (BC) management during the peak transmission period of the UK COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of these treatment decisions. Methods: This was a national cohort study of patients with early BC undergoing multidisciplinary team (MDT)-guided treatment recommendations during the pandemic, designated ‘standard’ or ‘COVID-altered’, in the preoperative, operative and post-operative setting. Findings: Of 3776 patients (from 64 UK units) in the study, 2246 (59%) had ‘COVID-altered’ management. ‘Bridging’ endocrine therapy was used (n = 951) where theatre capacity was reduced. There was increasing access to COVID-19 low-risk theatres during the study period (59%). In line with national guidance, immediate breast reconstruction was avoided (n = 299). Where adjuvant chemotherapy was omitted (n = 81), the median benefit was only 3% (IQR 2–9%) using ‘NHS Predict’. There was the rapid adoption of new evidence-based hypofractionated radiotherapy (n = 781, from 46 units). Only 14 patients (1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during their treatment journey. Conclusions: The majority of ‘COVID-altered’ management decisions were largely in line with pre-COVID evidence-based guidelines, implying that breast cancer survival outcomes are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the pandemic. However, in this study, the potential impact of delays to BC presentation or diagnosis remains unknown

Habitat degradation, vegetation damage, and wildlife‐livestock interactions in Amboseli ecosystem wildlife sanctuaries, Kenya

It is important to assess whether anthropogenic activity affects wildlife distribution and resource use to appraise the efficacy of multi-use protected areas. Habitat degradation and vegetation damage as indicators of competitive and facilitative livestock-wildlife interactions were the focus of this study. Foot transects were conducted in the dry season of 2011, wet season of 2012, and dry season of 2012 in five wildlife sanctuaries in the Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya, to determine whether habitat degradation and vegetation damage affected wildlife distribution and wildlife-livestock interactions. Simpson's and Jaccard's biodiversity indices and Pianka's niche overlap index were used to assess wildlife-livestock interactions across a gradient of habitat degradation. In the dry season, Jaccard's, Pianka's, and Simpson's indices (0.50, 0.84, and 0.99, respectively) peaked at the highest level of degradation. In the wet season, Jaccard's index (0.42) peaked at a fairly high level of habitat degradation, Pianka's index (0.82) at a fairly low level, and Simpson's (0.80) at the lowest level. Two-way ANOVA revealed that there was no effect of degradation or vegetation damage on wildlife distribution irrespective of the feeding guild. Therefore, it appears that continued shared use of the Amboseli landscape by wildlife and livestock is feasible

Using camera traps to study hyenas: challenges, opportunities, and outlook

The use of remote camera traps has accelerated rapidly in the field of large carnivore science since the 1990s. Members of the Hyaenidae are important components of functional ecosystems in Africa and parts of the Middle East and South Asia, and make good candidates for study using camera traps. However, camera trap studies of hyenas remain rare in the literature when compared to species like tigers Panthera tigris, leopards Panthera pardus, and snow leopards Panthera uncia. In this paper, we examine the published use of camera traps for hyenas (n = 34 studies implemented between 2007 and 2020) and examine the logistical challenges of using camera traps, such as individual identification, limited sexual dimorphism, and complex social structures, for studies of hyena population biology, behavioral ecology, and conservation. We highlight what these challenges may mean for data analyses and interpretation. We also suggest potential benefits of further camera trap studies of this taxonomic family, including new insights into social behavior, range extensions, and robust density estimates

Diurnal pastoralism does not reduce juvenile recruitment nor elevate allostatic load in spotted hyenas

Anthropogenic activity can have substantial effects on wildlife. These effects may vary according to the characteristics of the activity and the species involved. Although effects on behaviour are well studied, studies of effects on fitness and physiology are scarce, particularly for groupâliving species. We exploited a natural experimental setup to investigate the effect of diurnal pastoralism on juvenile recruitment and allostatic load in a population of freeâranging spotted hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, over a 24âyear period. Pastoralism was restricted to the territories of two of the eight study clans, allowing us to compare juvenile recruitment in exposed and unexposed clans. We also compared faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (fGMC)âa biomarker of an organism's allostatic loadâbetween exposed and unexposed clans using 975 faecal samples from 475 hyenas. We found no detectable difference in juvenile recruitment nor fGMC between the exposed and unexposed clans, indicating that the pastoralism had no substantial deleterious effect on the spotted hyenas. The lack of a deleterious effect likely stems from the combined effect of the predictable and undisruptive nature of the pastoralism, the socioâecology of spotted hyenas and the Ngorongoro Crater's consistently abundant prey. Our findings demonstrate that exposure to anthropogenic activity may be compatible with the persistence of certain groupâliving species, especially if the overlap between the species' critical behaviours and the activity is limited. Our study thereby provides new perspectives for ecologists, conservation biologists and stakeholders who seek to assess humanâwildlife conflicts and balance the needs of local human communities and wildlife

Emotions and Cultural Importance Predict the Acceptance of Large Carnivore Management Strategies by Maasai Pastoralists

Management strategies to reduce human-carnivore conflict are most effective when accepted by local communities. Previous studies have suggested that the acceptance depends on emotions toward carnivores, the cultural importance of carnivores, and livestock depredation, and that it may vary depending on the types of strategies and carnivores involved. However, no study so far considered these factors simultaneously to compare their influence on the acceptance of management strategies. We quantified the predictive potential of these factors on the acceptance of three management strategies frequently applied to mitigate human-carnivore conflict: no action, relocation, and lethal control. We interviewed 100 members of the Maasai community in Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. We used structured, closed questionnaires and focused on the three large carnivores involved in the most depredation regionally: spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), lions (Panthera leo), and leopards (Panthera pardus). We found that the majority of respondents accepted no action and rejected relocation and lethal control for all three carnivores. The acceptance of the management strategies was strongly influenced by the emotion joy and by the cultural importance of carnivores, and the effects of joy and cultural importance were stronger than the effect of livestock depredation. We conclude that authorities should evaluate the emotions and cultural importance that local communities associate with carnivores when seeking to gain acceptance of management strategies and account for differences between species. Finally, we recommend that future human-carnivore coexistence studies should consider the socio-psychology of local communities and be done longitudinally to detect shifts in cultural, emotional, and ecological factors over time

Leopard and spotted hyena densities in the Lake Mburo National Park, southwestern Uganda

Robust measures of animal densities are necessary for effective wildlife management. Leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta Crocuta) are higher order predators that are data deficient across much of their East African range and in Uganda, excepting for one peer-reviewed study on hyenas, there are presently no credible population estimates for these species. A lack of information on the population status and even baseline densities of these species has ramifications as leopards are drawcards for the photo-tourism industry, and along with hyenas are often responsible for livestock depredations from pastoralist communities. Leopards are also sometimes hunted for sport. Establishing baseline density estimates for these species is urgently needed not only for population monitoring purposes, but in the design of sustainable management offtakes, and in assessing certain conservation interventions like financial compensation for livestock depredation. Accordingly, we ran a single-season survey of these carnivores in the Lake Mburo National Park of south-western Uganda using 60 remote camera traps distributed in a paired format at 30 locations. We analysed hyena and leopard detections under a Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling framework to estimate their densities. This small national park (370 km2) is surrounded by Bahima pastoralist communities with high densities of cattle on the park edge (with regular park incursions). Leopard densities were estimated at 6.31 individuals/100 km2 (posterior SD = 1.47, 95% CI [3.75–9.20]), and spotted hyena densities were 10.99 individuals/100 km2, but with wide confidence intervals (posterior SD = 3.35, 95% CI [5.63–17.37]). Leopard and spotted hyena abundance within the boundaries of the national park were 24.87 (posterior SD 7.78) and 39.07 individuals (posterior = SD 13.51) respectively. Leopard densities were on the middle end of SECR studies published in the peer-reviewed literature over the last 5 years while spotted hyena densities were some of the first reported in the literature using SECR, and similar to a study in Botswana which reported 11.80 spotted hyenas/100 km2. Densities were not noticeably lower at the park edge, and in the southwest of our study site, despite repeated cattle incursions into these areas. We postulate that the relatively high densities of both species in the region could be owed to impala Aepyceros melampus densities ranging from 16.6–25.6 impala/km2. Another, potential explanatory variable (albeit a speculative one) is the absence of interspecific competition from African lions (Panthera leo), which became functionally extinct (there is only one male lion present) in the park nearly two decades ago. This study provides the first robust population estimate of these species anywhere in Uganda and suggests leopards and spotted hyenas continue to persist in the highly modified landscape of Lake Mburo National Park

Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul: managing threatened predators of endangered and declining prey species

Conservation policy and practice can sometimes run counter to their mutual aims of ensuring species survival. In Kenya, where threatened predators such as lion deplete endangered prey such as Grevy’s zebra, conservation practitioners seek to ensure species success through exclusive strategies of protection, population increase and preservation. We found strong selection for the endangered Grevy’s zebra by both lion and hyena on two small fenced conservancies in Kenya. Despite abundant diversity of available prey, Grevy’s zebra were selected disproportionately more than their availability, while other highly available species such as buffalo were avoided. Lions were therefore not alone in presenting a credible threat to Grevy’s zebra survival. Conservation practitioners must consider interlinked characteristics of prey selection, resource availability and quality, the interplay between carnivore guild members and landscape scale population trends performance in wildlife management decisions

Operando generated ordered heterogeneous catalyst for the selective conversion of CO2 to methanol

The discovery of new materials for efficient transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2) into desired fuel can revolutionize large-scale renewable energy storage and mitigate environmental damage due to carbon emissions. In this work, we discovered an operando generated stable Ni–In kinetic phase that selectively converts CO2 to methanol (CTM) at low pressure compared to the state-of-the-art materials. The catalytic nature of a well-known methanation catalyst, nickel, has been tuned with the introduction of inactive indium, which enhances the CTM process. The remarkable change in the mechanistic pathways toward methanol production has been mapped by operando diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy analysis, corroborated by first-principles calculations. The ordered arrangement and pronounced electronegativity difference between metals are attributed to the complete shift in mechanism. The approach and findings of this work provide a unique advance toward the next-generation catalyst discovery for going beyond the state-of-the-art in CO2 reduction technologies