On a Dhole trail: examining ecological and anthropogenic correlates of Dhole habitat occupancy in the Western Ghats of India

Although they play a critical role in shaping ecological communities, many threatened predator species are data-deficient. The Dhole Cuon alpinus is one such rare canid with a global population thought to be < 2500 wild individuals. We assessed habitat occupancy patterns of dholes in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India, to understand ecological and anthropogenic determinants of their distribution and habitat-use. We conducted spatially replicated detection/non-detection surveys of dhole signs along forest trails at two appropriate scales: the entire landscape and a single wildlife reserve. Landscape-scale habitat occupancy was assessed across 38,728 km2 surveying 206 grid cells of 188-km2 each. Finer scale habitat-use within 935 km2 Bandipur Reserve was studied surveying 92 grid cells of 13-km2 km each. We analyzed the resulting data of dhole signs using likelihood-based habitat occupancy models. The models explicitly addressed the problematic issue of imperfect detection of dhole signs during field surveys as well as potential spatial auto-correlation between sign detections made on adjacent trail segments. We show that traditional ‘presence versus absence’ analyses underestimated dhole habitat occupancy by 60% or 8682 km2 [naïve  =  0.27; ≏ ψL (SE) =  0.68 (0.08)] in the landscape. Addressing imperfect sign detections by estimating detection probabilities [ˆpt(L) (SE)  =  0.12 (0.11)] was critical for reliable estimation. Similar underestimation occurred while estimating habitat-use probability at reserve-scale [naïve  =  0.39; ˆψs (SE) =  0.71 (0.06)]. At landscape scale, relative abundance of principal ungulate prey primarily influenced dhole habitat occupancy. Habitat-use within a reserve, however, was predominantly and negatively influenced by anthropogenic disturbance. Our results are the first rigorous assessment of dhole occupancy at multiple spatial scales with potential conservation value. The approach used in this study has potential utility for cost-effectively assessing spatial distribution and habitat-use in other species, landscapes and reserves

Sinks as saviors: why flawed inference cannot assist tiger recovery

A recent study of tigers in Chitwan, Nepal (1) stirred controversy by challenging the “source-sink” approach that underlies current global tiger conservation strategies (2). The observed lack of difference in tiger density estimates inside the protected area compared with a multiple-use area outside is offered as evidence. Based on this result, the study questions the relevance of strictly protected tiger reserves involving regulation of extractive uses and relocation of human settlements. The study offers an alternate vision of sustainable, syntopic “coexistence” of tigers and humans as a solution to increasing human resource demands on tiger habitats

Examining leopard attacks: spatio-temporal clustering of human injuries and deaths in Western Himalayas, India

Shared spaces in Africa and Asia accommodate both humans and big cats. This engenders rare but distinctive cases of human fatalities by lions, tigers, and leopards. Among big cats, leopards have the widest range and occur even among high densities of humans. This increased potential for encounters with humans results in attacks, exemplified most by India where 50% of the states report human injuries and deaths due to leopards. Himachal Pradesh (HP) state reported 30 lethal and 287 non-lethal leopard attacks on humans per year between 2004 – 2015 (N=317). Identifying patterns in big cat attacks on people facilitates targeted interventions for decreasing such fatalities. This study aims to detect if leopards are cluster-causing agents of human injuries and deaths. We identify the patterns of leopard attacks on humans in Himachal Pradesh by examining the following questions: (a) do leopard-attributed attacks on humans cluster in space and time? and among the leopard-attributed attacks (b) do unprovoked attacks on humans cluster spatio-temporally? and (c) what environmental factors are associated with the clustered leopard attacks on humans? We employed a space-time permutation scan statistic commonly used in epidemiology to test for spatio-temporal clustering of leopard attacks. Attacks were spread across 75% (~42,000 km sq.) of HP in 11 out of 12 districts. We found that 23% of attacks clustered into 12 significant spatio-temporal clusters. Nearly 14% of the leopard-attributed attacks (N=317) were unprovoked and attacks displaying “predatory” signs did not form significant clusters. Binomial regression models were run to test association of eight environmental factors with clustered attacks. We found that leopard-attributed attacks farther away from the protected area boundary and closer to the district boundary had higher probability of clustering. The framework developed in this study to identify the outbreak of unprovoked leopard attacks confirms the absence of dedicated “man-eaters” in the study region. This approach can be applied to adaptively manage human-wildlife conflict and it also demonstrates the utility of scan statistic in ecological research

Assessing Patterns of Human-Wildlife Conflicts and Compensation around a Central Indian Protected Area

Mitigating crop and livestock loss to wildlife and improving compensation distribution are important for conservation efforts in landscapes where people and wildlife co-occur outside protected areas. The lack of rigorously collected spatial data poses a challenge to management efforts to minimize loss and mitigate conflicts. We surveyed 735 households from 347 villages in a 5154 km2 area surrounding Kanha Tiger Reserve in India. We modeled self-reported household crop and livestock loss as a function of agricultural, demographic and environmental factors, and mitigation measures. We also modeled self-reported compensation received by households as a function of demographic factors, conflict type, reporting to authorities, and wildlife species involved. Seventy-three percent of households reported crop loss and 33% livestock loss in the previous year, but less than 8% reported human injury or death. Crop loss was associated with greater number of cropping months per year and proximity to the park. Livestock loss was associated with grazing animals inside the park and proximity to the park. Among mitigation measures only use of protective physical structures were associated with reduced livestock loss. Compensation distribution was more likely for tiger related incidents, and households reporting loss and located in the buffer. Average estimated probability of crop loss was 0.93 and livestock loss was 0.60 for surveyed households. Estimated crop and livestock loss and compensation distribution were higher for households located inside the buffer. Our approach modeled conflict data to aid managers in identifying potential conflict hotspots, influential factors, and spatially maps risk probability of crop and livestock loss. This approach could help focus allocation of conservation efforts and funds directed at conflict prevention and mitigation where high densities of people and wildlife co-occur

Mammal Diversity, Persistence, and Conservation in India

<p>Biodiversity conservation issues are complex and contentious. In this dissertation, I focus on Indian mammal conservation science, management, as well as policy issues that shape these factors. I am particularly interested in, where and which mammals are extinction prone, and what factors promote species persistence in human-dominated landscapes. I examine patterns of extinction, range contraction and current distribution of 25 species of large mammals in India in Chapters 2 and 3. I apply occupancy models to data from a sub-continental scale expert opinion survey. I model species occurrence in relation to ecological and social covariates based on a priori hypotheses about the determinants of mammalian distribution patterns. </p><p>I find that all 25 large mammal species are extinction prone. I find time affects extinction, and conservation initiatives of the last four decades have allowed some species to re-colonize some areas. I find protected wildlife reserves are critically important for persistence of species. Many species with much of their habitat outside existing protected areas will require new protected areas to persist. I find that human population density negatively influences survival probability for species, and human cultural tolerance positively affected persistence of species. Most large-bodied animals, habitat specialists, and rare species had higher extinction probabilities. I find that in addition to protected areas, land use, and human population densities, regionally rooted cultural and religious factors have allowed some species to survive. Conservation strategies must integrate all these factors to ensure the survival of India's large mammals in the future.</p><p>Conservation efforts to protect wildlife in human-dominated landscapes, often requires relocation of people. This policy has rarely been examined in detail. In Chapter 4, I focus on a reserve in India's Western Ghats of India to assess resettlement experiences of people during and after implementation of a relocation project. </p><p>Lastly, the success or failure of conservation policies and management interventions be they for protecting wildlife or addressing needs of local communities, depends substantially on the attitudes of conservation practitioners. In Chapter 5, I examine the attitudes, perspectives and opinions of Indian conservationists towards conservation issues and policies in India.</p>Dissertatio

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Acoustic presence/absence data of 20 plantation sites sampled in 2015-16 and 2016-1

Public-private management in Primary Health Care services in the city of São Paulo

Introdução: A gestão público-privada na saúde brasileira, fortalecida após a criação das Organizações Sociais (OSs) no País, em 1998, se intensifica também na rede de atenção primária da cidade de São Paulo. Segundo a Secretaria Municipal da Saúde, das 449 UBSs existentes na capital paulista em 2014, 280 (62,3%) eram administradas via contrato de gestão ou convênios com entidades sem fins lucrativos. Faltam, no entanto, estudos que explorem o impacto da adoção desse modelo nas unidades de atenção primária. Objetivos: Analisar estrutura, processo e resultado das unidades de atenção primária da cidade de São Paulo segundo a modalidade de gestão e a entidade gestora. Métodos: Foi adotado estudo descritivo e exploratório em que foram analisados três bancos de dados do segundo ciclo do Programa Nacional para Melhoria do Acesso e Qualidade da Atenção Básica (PMAQ-AB) referentes às Unidades Básicas de Saúde da cidade de São Paulo, o que significou uma amostra de 264 unidades/911 equipes. Foram escolhidos 28 indicadores para análise (um de estrutura, dez de processo e 17 de resultado). As UBSs e equipes de atenção primária foram classificadas de acordo com sua modalidade de gestão e entidade gestora e os resultados de cada grupo em cada um dos indicadores foram separados. Foram realizados testes estatísticos (quiquadrado e Anova) para verificar a significância das diferenças encontradas. Resultados: Dos 28 indicadores analisados, 10 registraram diferença significativa entre equipes com diferentes modalidades de gestão. Em oito deles, houve melhor desempenho das equipes de unidades com gestão público-privada. Já na análise por entidade gestora, 25 dos 28 indicadores analisados tiveram diferenças significativas, com diferenças importantes entre unidades de administração públicoprivada, mas com entidades gestoras diferentes. Conclusões: Os resultados indicam que a contratualização na atenção básica pode colaborar com o aumento do acesso e produtividade dos serviços. No entanto, as evidências não são fortes o suficiente para concluir que um modelo é superior ao outro. Ficou claro que a entidade gestora parece ter um peso maior no desempenho das unidades e equipes do que simplesmente a modalidade de gestão.Introduction: Public-private management in Brazilian healthcare system, strengthened after the creation of Social Organizations (OSs) in the country in 1998, is also strong in the primary care services of the city of São Paulo. According to the Municipal Health Department, from the 449 primary care services of the state capital in 2014, 280 (62.3%) were administered by non-profit entities through agreements with the government. There are, however, few studies that explore the impact of adopting this model in the primary care services. Objectives: Analyze structure, process and outcomes of primary care services in the city of São Paulo according to the management modality and the management entity. Methods: A descriptive and exploratory study was carried out in which three databases of the second cycle of the National Program for Improving Access and Quality of Primary Care (PMAQ-AB) were analyzed for the Basic Health Units of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. which meant a sample of 264 units / 911 teams. We selected 28 indicators for analysis (one of structure, ten of process and 17 of outcomes). The UBSs and primary care teams were classified according to their management modality and managing entity and the results of each group in each of the indicators were separated. Statistical tests (chisquare and Anova) were performed to verify the significance of the differences found. Results: From the 28 indicators analyzed, ten registered a significant difference between teams with different management modalities. In seven of them, there was better performance of the teams of units with public-private management. In the analysis by management entity, 25 of the 28 indicators analyzed had significant differences, with significant differences among public-private administration services with different management entities. Conclusions: The results indicate that contracting in primary care may contribute to increased access and productivity of services. However, the evidence is not strong enough to conclude that one model is superior to the other. It became clear that the management entity seems to have a greater weight in the performance of the services and teams than simply the management modality

Birds and beans: Comparing avian richness and endemism in arabica and robusta agroforests in India’s Western Ghats

Abstract Coffee is a major tropical commodity crop that can provide supplementary habitat for native wildlife. In Asia, coffee production is an increasingly important driver of landscape transformation and shifts between different coffee species is a major dimension of agroforestry trends. Yet few studies have compared the ecological impacts of conversion between different coffee species. We evaluated whether or not the two species of coffee grown globally—Coffea arabica and C. canephora (denoted “robusta”)—had equivalent avian conservation value in the Western Ghats, India, where robusta production has become increasingly dominant. We found that habitat specialist and functional guild diversity was higher in arabica, and that arabica was more profitable. However, robusta farms generally supported the same or slightly higher abundances of habitat specialists and functional guilds, largely due to dense canopy and landscape-level forest cover. Farming practices, chiefly pesticide use, may affect the suitability of coffee agroforests as habitat for avian specialists, and at present, robusta farmers tended to use less pesticide. Given future projections for arabica to robusta conversion in tropical Asia, our study indicates that certification efforts should prioritize maintaining native canopy shade trees and forest cover to ensure that coffee landscapes can continue providing biodiversity benefits

Hunting: a serious and understudied threat in India, a globally significant conservation region

Hunting is one of the greatest conservation challenges facing tropical wildlife. Wildlife in Indian tropical forests are vulnerable to hunting, although data on hunting impacts from the region are limited. We use a meta-analysis of 143 hunting studies from India to identify the species and geographic regions most at risk, and to assess their legal protection. We found evidence of hunting in 114 mammal species, with larger-bodied mammals being particularly vulnerable. Although 75% of all studies focused on mammals, few actually quantified hunting impacts. Further, among studies of all terrestrial vertebrates where hunting was mentioned, only 6% focused exclusively on hunting. With further research, we expect that the suite of species known to be exploited by hunters will increase. We conclude that the Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Myanmar biodiversity-hotspot complex is particularly vulnerable to hunting. Quantitative studies of hunting impacts are urgently needed across India, especially in this biodiversity-hotspot complex