The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

Typologie des activités de chasse et impacts sur les espèces fauniques en Afrique Occidentale : revue de littérature: Typology of hunting activities and impacts on wildlife species in West Africa: literature review

Cette synthèse bibliographique vise à comprendre l’état des connaissances des pratiques de chasse et leurs effets sur les espèces de faune dans les périphéries des Aires Protégées d’Afrique de l’Ouest. Elle identifie également les lacunes dans les critères de classification des types de chasse et la prise en compte des aspects théoriques dans les diverses analyses. Trois types de chasse dont la chasse de subsistance (27,5% des documents), la chasse commerciale (63,75%) et la chasse sportive (8,75%) ont été identifiés. Si la chasse de subsistance prélève les oiseaux et les rongeurs en majorité, la chasse commerciale capture toutes les espèces rencontrées tandis que la chasse sportive abat les espèces avec les trophées comme les éléphants et les lions. L’impact négatif de la chasse est dénoncé par les auteurs lus. Bien que la prise en compte des aspects spatiaux et environnementaux et les caractéristiques biologiques des espèces prélevées soient importante dans la gestion de la faune, les documents analysés ont occulté ces aspects. Le présent travail suggère des études complètes sur la chasse traditionnelle en y intégrant les aspects spatiaux et environnementaux. This bibliographic review aims to understand the state of knowledge of hunting practices and their effects on species of fauna in the outskirts of West African Protected Areas. It also identifies the gaps in the criteria for classifying the types of hunting and the taking into account of theoretical aspects in the various analyzes. Three types of hunting including subsistence hunting (27.5% of documents), commercial hunting (63.75%) and sport hunting (8.75%) were identified. While subsistence hunting takes the majority of birds and rodents, commercial hunting captures all the species encountered while sport hunting cuts down species with trophies such as elephants and lions. The negative impact of hunting is denounced by the authors read. Although the consideration of spatial and environmental aspects and the biological characteristics of the species collected are important in wildlife management, the documents analyzed have overlooked these aspects. The present work suggests comprehensive studies on traditional hunting by integrating spatial and environmental aspects

Diversité des Espèces de Faunes Chassées et Impact sur la Biodiversité Animale (Nord-Ouest du Bénin)

Hunting is an important activity for communities close to wildlife reserves, despite its negative impacts on wildlife. For one and a half day, daily monitoring was conducted alongside the hunters during 203 hunting parties in the study area. This paper focuses on identifying the species hunted, to analyze the different sampling sites, and to evaluate the pressure on the fauna. The use of Generalized Linear Models realized in the software R 3.4.1 allowed the treatment of the data of the collected species. A total of 2712 game animals, belonging to 09 orders of animals and 34 species, were identified among the samples. The most severed species were small-sized species such as Lepus crawashayi (31.12%), Francolinus bicalcaratus (29.09%), and Thryonomys swinderianus (10.88%). Most game is slaughtered in the fields (53.28%), fallows (29.17%) and on rocky outcrops (3.32%), and some are taken from the protected savannah (1.29%). The samples are non-selective, resulting in damage to wildlife biodiversity. This pressure is also manifested by the presence of endangered species in the IUCN Red List samples, such as the vulnerable Ourebie (Ourebia ourebia) (VU) and Denham’s Bustard (Neotis denhami), another critically endangered species (CR). The harvested species are small resilient species that are resistant to hunting pressure for the moment. As the population increases, this hunt will no longer be sustainable.La chasse est une activité importante pour les communautés proches des réserves de faunes malgré ses impacts négatifs sur les espèces sauvages. Durant un an et demi, un suivi quotidien a été mené aux côtés des chasseurs pendant 203 parties de chasse dans la zone d’étude. L’objectif de cette étude était de recenser les espèces chassées, d’analyser les différents lieux des prélèvements et d’évaluer la pression subie par la faune. L’utilisation des Modèles Linéaires Généralisés réalisés avec le logiciel R 3.4.1 ont permis le traitement des données des espèces prélevées. Au total, 2712 gibiers appartenant à 09 ordres d’animaux et 34 espèces ont été recensés parmi les prélèvements. Les espèces les plus abattues étaient des espèces de petites tailles comme Lepus crawashayi (31,12 %), Francolinus bicalcaratus (29,09 %) et Thryonomysswinderianus (10,88 %). La plupart des gibierssont abattus dans les champs (53,28%) et les jachères (29,17%) et sur les affleurements rocheux (3,32%) et quelques-uns sont prélevés à l’intérieur de la savane protégée (1,29%). Les prélèvements sont non sélectifs, d’où des atteintes à la biodiversité faunique. Cette pression se manifeste aussi par la présence des espèces menacées dans les prélèvements , inscrites sur la liste rouge de l’UICN, comme l’Ourebie (Ourebia ourebia) , une espèce vulnérable (VU) et l’Outarde de Denham (Neotis denhami), une autre espèce en danger critique (CR). Les espèces prélevées sont des espèces résilientes de petites tailles qui résistent à la pression de la chasse pour le moment, mais, avec l’augmentation de la population, cette chasse ne sera plus soutenable

Assessing the impact of the wildlife trade in West Africa (Benin): Functional diversity matters too

We tackle the potential impact of bushmeat markets (BM) and traditional medicine markets (TMM) on the functional diversity of mammalian communities in southern Benin, West Africa. A hybrid approach combining direct observations, DNA-typing and questionnaires allowed us to identify 94 species-level taxa across 11 mammalian orders, the greatest ever reported numbers for African wildlife markets. TMM sold species of high conservation concern or regulated by international conventions and sourced among all the taxonomic orders and bioclimatic zones of the country. BM were taxonomically and functionally 100% nested within TMM. However, functional richness was high in both markets, impacting nine diet specializations and five ecological functions, which included seed dispersion (frugivores, folivores and omnivores), prey regulation (carnivores and invertivores), browsing (folivores), grazing (omnivores) and fertilization (nectarivores). TMM likely jeopardized the regulatory, structural and production functions of the sourced ecosystems as they sold species with the greatest body weights and generation lengths, and smallest litter sizes, including large herbivores and keystone predators. BM, despite their restricted range, sourced among a non-selective taxonomic and functional spectrum and as such, also represent a significant threat to ecosystem functioning in southern Benin. The functional database that we provide can serve as a starting point to pursue the quantification of functional diversity in African mammals and further investigate the impact of wildlife markets on ecosystem functioning in tropical Africa. Overall, long-term surveys of the two types of wildlife markets are needed to accurately quantify the threat they constitute to mammalian biodiversity and the sustainability of ecosystem services

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

International audienceSub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species' population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate 'intactness scores': the remaining proportion of an 'intact' reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region's major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

bi4africa dataset - open source

The bii4africa dataset is presented in a multi-spreadsheet .ods file. The raw data spreadsheet (‘Scores_Raw’) includes 31,313 individual expert estimates of the impact of a sub-Saharan African land use on a species response group of terrestrial vertebrates or vascular plants. Estimates are reported as intactness scores - the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference (pre-industrial or contemporary wilderness area) population of a species response group in a land use, on a scale from 0 (no individuals remain) through 0.5 (half the individuals remain), to 1 (same as the reference population) and, in limited cases, to 2 (two or more times the reference population). For species that thrive in human-modified landscapes, scores could be greater than 1 but not exceeding 2 to avoid extremely large scores biasing aggregation exercises. Expert comments are included alongside respective estimates

bii4africa dataset

The bii4africa dataset is presented in a multi-spreadsheet .xlsx file. The raw data spreadsheet (‘Scores_Raw’) includes 31,313 individual expert estimates of the impact of a sub-Saharan African land use on a species response group of terrestrial vertebrates or vascular plants. Estimates are reported as intactness scores - the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference (pre-industrial or contemporary wilderness area) population of a species response group in a land use, on a scale from 0 (no individuals remain) through 0.5 (half the individuals remain), to 1 (same as the reference population) and, in limited cases, to 2 (two or more times the reference population). For species that thrive in human-modified landscapes, scores could be greater than 1 but not exceeding 2 to avoid extremely large scores biasing aggregation exercises. Expert comments are included alongside respective estimates