41 research outputs found
Finding a safe space: denning range dynamics of African wild dogs in Zimbabwe
African wild dogs utilise a den for ~10–12 weeks after birthing, during which home ranges are contracted and usually in areas away from roads and water sources, with low prey and predator abundances, high terrain ruggedness and vegetation cover. Our study in Savé Valley Conservancy (SVC) investigated which ecological and environmental factors determine the selection of denning areas and behaviours. Camera trap data collected from four den grids and three random den grids were analysed using binomial generalised linear and occupancy models. Denning wild dogs preferred areas with higher kudu and impala presence and areas closer to roads and water sources. Wild dogs may den in areas we perceive as riskier in an attempt to reduce energy expenditure when hunting. The detection of wild dogs strongly decreased with higher lion presence, while increasing with steeper slopes, higher vegetation cover and leopard presence. Given lion habitat preferences, SVC wild dogs could be using areas which reduce their exposure to lions, while solitary leopards do not necessarily pose a risk to wild dog packs. Our study highlights that the denning behaviours of wild dogs may be inconsistent both within and among populations, and that comprehensive research approaches be taken to understand their denning behaviours, assisting the development of appropriate management/conservation strategies
Attitudes and tolerance of private landowners shape the African wild dog conservation landscape in the greater Kruger National Park
The survival of wildlife ultimately relies on its acceptability to humans. The African
wild dog Lycaon pictus is an endangered species that often comes into conflict with humans. Currently,
the only viable population in South Africa resides in the Kruger National Park (KNP). To
begin to understand the acceptability of wild dogs outside this important wild dog stronghold, we
interviewed private landowners (n = 186) along the KNP western and southern boundaries.
Respondents generally held positive attitudes towards wild dogs and had a good knowledge of
them. Attitudes were also more positive when the property was part of a conservancy, indicating
that the conservation landscape for wild dogs on private land outside the KNP is promising. However,
the impact of edge effects such as disease transmission should not be ignored in future
research, and creative solutions for mitigating these effects must be sought to ensure the future
conservation of wild dogs.Jaguar Land Rover South Africa,
Vaughan de la Harpe and his Climb for Kruger Wild Dogs
Expedition, Richard Bosman and GCCL2 Management Services,
and Rhodes University for the Henderson Prestigious
Masters Postgraduate Scholarship.http://www.int-res.com/journals/esr/esr-homeam2018Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog
A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems
As the United Nations develops a post-2020 global biodiversity framework for the Convention on Biological Diversity, attention is focusing on how new goals and targets for ecosystem conservation might serve its vision of ‘living in harmony with nature’(1,2). Advancing dual imperatives to conserve biodiversity and sustain ecosystem services requires reliable and resilient generalizations and predictions about ecosystem responses to environmental change and management(3). Ecosystems vary in their biota(4), service provision(5) and relative exposure to risks(6), yet there is no globally consistent classification of ecosystems that reflects functional responses to change and management. This hampers progress on developing conservation targets and sustainability goals. Here we present the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology, a conceptually robust, scalable, spatially explicit approach for generalizations and predictions about functions, biota, risks and management remedies across the entire biosphere. The outcome of a major cross-disciplinary collaboration, this novel framework places all of Earth’s ecosystems into a unifying theoretical context to guide the transformation of ecosystem policy and management from global to local scales. This new information infrastructure will support knowledge transfer for ecosystem-specific management and restoration, globally standardized ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting and progress on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.publishedVersio
Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning
At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic.Peer reviewe
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (vol 13, 517, 2022) : National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (517), 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9)
Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.In this article the author name ‘Agustin Ibanez’ was incorrectly written as ‘Augustin Ibanez’. The original article has been corrected.Peer reviewe
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National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic.
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = -0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics
Recommended from our members
Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning
At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic