The impact of the establishment of otoch ma’ax yetel kooh protected area (YucatÁn, mexico) on populations of two neotropical primates

In 2002, Otoch Ma’ax Yetel Kooh (OMYK) was decreed a federal Flora and Fauna Protected Area in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, resulting in bans on hunting, logging and slash-and-burn agriculture within its limits. Our aim was to evaluate the influence of the establishment of the protected area on local primate populations. We compared relative abundances of Geoffroy’s Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) and Black Howler Monkeys (Alouatta pigra) in mature and secondary forest before OMYK was established (in 1998) and 13 years after (in 2015). In both years, the relative abundance of Spider Monkeys was higher in mature than in secondary forest and Howler Monkeys were found exclusively in mature forest. The overall similarity in Spider and Howler Monkey relative abundances over time when mature and secondary forests are considered together is likely because the primates were not hunted and logging was not carried out prior to the establishment of the protected area. Benefits to wildlife of banning slash-and-burn agriculture take longer to become apparent. Still, the legal status of the protected area is critical to defend this site from future land-use changes and it allows the secondary forests to age, thereby increasing habitat for the primate populations

Anthropogenic habitat disturbance and food availability affect the abundance of an endangered primate: a regional approach

Anthropogenic habitat disturbances are causing large-scale declines in animal abundance. For many species, information on the drivers of decline is lacking or restricted to single sites, despite calls for regional approaches. In this study, we determined the effect of different types of habitat disturbance (natural or anthropogenic) and ecological factors on Geoffroy’s spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) abundance using a regional approach. We selected this study species because of its high degree of social flexibility and its endangered status. We surveyed 4 sites in the Yucatan Peninsula and recorded the number of individual monkeys encountered along 72 line-transect segments each measuring 500 m. Habitat disturbance variables were obtained from open-access databases and included distance to roads, presence and number of hurricanes, forest loss, and presence of forest fires. Ecological factors were based on data collected during vegetation surveys and included number and basal area of feeding tree species, and canopy height. We ran generalized linear mixed models and found that monkey abundance was negatively affected by forest loss but positively affected by the basal area of feeding trees. We, therefore, suggest that a combination of anthropogenic and ecological factors affects spider monkey abundance. Spider monkey’s high degree of social flexibility may be a mechanism allowing them to adjust to changes in their environment when canopy connectivity is not lost. Our results provide policy and conservation decision makers with key information to develop regional conservation plans. Additionally, our methods can be used to identify the factors that affect the abundance of other mammal species. © 2020, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Säugetierkunde

Changes in the socio-ecological system of a protected area in the yucatan peninsula: A case study on land-use, vegetation cover, and household management strategies

Protected areas (PA) are effective means for protecting biodiversity, but less is known about their effect on the social-ecological system (SES). Using a semi-experimental approach and a descriptive case study based evaluation, we analyzed the effect of a PA in the Yucatan Peninsula on land-cover and household resource management strategies in time and space (before and after the PA establishment; inside and outside its limits). To assess the changes of land-use practices in the areas surrounding the communities inside and outside the PA, and their change over time (from 2003 to 2015), we used remote sensing analysis and semi-structured interviews. Our results show that after the PA was established, the forest increased and agricultural plots decreased inside and to a lesser extent outside the PA. However, fires reduced the area of old-growth forest and increased young secondary forest, highlighting the system’s vulnerability to uncommon events. Resource management strategies were also affected: while inside the PA households tended toward specializing on tourism, outside the PA household strategies implied a diversification of productive activities. Overall, the establishment of the PA proved to be an effective tool to promote forest recovery and prevent deforestation in the regions surrounding the communities both inside and outside the PA

Superação de dormência de sementes como estratégia para restauração florestal de pastagem tropical

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência de tratamentos de superação da dormência de sementes sobre a taxa e o tempo de emergência de espécies arbóreas de Fabaceae, e sobre seu estabelecimento, quando reintroduzidas em pastagem, no Cerrado. Foram realizados experimentos em casa de vegetação e em campo (pastagem de Urochloa brizantha), com as espécies Mimosa caesalpiniifolia, Peltophorum dubium, Pterogyne nitens, Dimorphandra mollis, Copaifera langsdorffii e Hymenaea stigonocarpa, submetidas ou não aos seguintes tratamentos de superação de dormência: D. mollis e H. stigonocarpa, escarificação mecânica; C. langsdorffii e M. caesalpiniifolia, escarificação química com H2SO4; P. nitens, punção do tegumento; e P. dubium, imersão em água a 80ºC. O estabelecimento em campo foi monitorado por 21 meses. A superação de dormência promoveu, em casa de vegetação, maior emergência de quatro das seis espécies avaliadas, e, no campo, de cinco espécies. Além disso, reduziu o tempo de emergência das espécies e aumentou o recrutamento de M. caesalpiniifolia, P. nitens, D. mollis e H. stigonocarpa, aos 127 dias, e de H. stigonocarpa aos 659 dias. Os tratamentos de superação de dormência podem aumentar a eficiência da semeadura direta, em projetos de restauração de áreas degradadas no Cerrado, ao promover maior emergência das sementes e o estabelecimento das plantas

Spider Monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) habituate to anthropogenic pressure in a low-impact tourism area: Insights from a multi-method approach

Shared habitats between humans and other animals are increasing in the twenty- first century, which may require behavioral flexibility from animal species to adjust to these new environments. We evaluated the effects of anthropogenic pressure on Geoffroy’s spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) in a low-impact tourism area. Over the course of 18 months, we repeatedly assessed the presence of spider monkeys at 49 sampling locations for a total of 98 hours of point-count sampling and 6,768 hours of passive acoustic monitoring. Combining these data, we assessed the effects of human settlements, recreational areas, forest loss, and anthropogenic noise on spi- der monkey abundance using Royle–Nichols models. We found positive associations of various sources of anthropogenic pressure with spider monkey abundance. We interpret the results as Geoffroy´s spider monkeys habituating to various sources of anthropogenic pressure, and conclude that the species has the potential to live in low-impacted habitats shared with humans, but that conservation efforts should focus on evaluating the risk of human–wildlife conflict emergence. By combining our multi-method survey with Royle–Nichols statistical models, we offer a flex- ible approach to monitor primate populations with a high degree of fission–fusion dynamics, while controlling for heterogeneity in detection probability

Environmental duty of care: from ethical principle towards a code of practice for the grazing industry in Queensland (Australia)

Among the options of government for reducing negative environmental externalities from agriculture is the institution of a polluter statutory liability. An environmental duty of care imposes a statutory liability on agents who interact with the environment to avoid causing environmental harm. This paper documents environmental duty of care provisions governing landholders in Queensland, Australia, with specific reference to the 2007 Queensland State Rural Leasehold Land Strategy. The paper reports on a positive response by a group of leaseholders within the Northern Gulf Region in Queensland who developed a prototype environmental code of practice for grazing—a land use not previously covered by such an institution in Australia. The paper concludes that (1) a statutory environmental duty of care and specific forms of leasehold tenure are elements of an effective strategy for implementing an agricultural environmental ethics in north Australia's rangelands and (2) a grazing industry code of practice is a practical and important tool for the grazing industry to safeguard its social licence to operate

A regional PECS node built from place-based social-ecological sustainability research in Latin America and the Caribbean

Sustainability requires a combination of meaningful co-production of locally relevant solutions, synthesis of insights gained across regions, and increased cooperation between science, policy and practice. The Programme for Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) has been coordinating Place-Based Social-Ecological Sustainability Research (PBSESR) across the globe and emphasizes the need for regional scientific nodes from diverse biocultural regions to inform sustainability science and action. In this paper, we assess the strengths of the PBSESR communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). We provide an overview of PBSESR literature associated with this region and highlight the achievements of two prominent regional networks: The Social-Ecological Systems and Sustainability Research Network from Mexico (SocioEcoS) and the South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies from Uruguay (SARAS Institute). Finally, we identify the potential in these nodes to constitute a regional PECS node in Latin America and discuss the capacity needed to ensure such function. The results of the literature review show that while still loosely interconnected across the region, networks play key roles in connecting otherwise cloistered teams and we illustrate how the SocioEcoS network (focusing on transdisciplinary co-production of knowledge towards sustainability) and the SARAS Institute (focusing on innovative approaches for looking at complex social-ecological problems, rooted in slow science and arts) operate as key connectors in the region. We conclude that these organizations combined can embody a Latin American node for PECS, and would thereby not only contribute to regional but also global capacities to advance the sustainability agenda.Incluye referencias bibliográfica