Global extent and drivers of mammal population declines in protected areas under illegal hunting pressure

Illegal hunting is a persistent problem in many protected areas, but an overview of the extent of this problem and its impact on wildlife is lacking. We reviewed 40 years (1980–2020) of global research to examine the spatial distribution of research and socio-ecological factors influencing population decline within protected areas under illegal hunting pressure. From 81 papers reporting 988 species/site combinations, 294 mammal species were reported to have been illegally hunted from 155 protected areas across 48 countries. Research in illegal hunting has increased substantially during the review period and showed biases towards strictly protected areas and the African continent. Population declines were most frequent in countries with a low human development index, particularly in strict protected areas and for species with a body mass over 100 kg. Our results provide evidence that illegal hunting is most likely to cause declines of large-bodied species in protected areas of resource-poor countries regardless of protected area conservation status. Given the growing pressures of illegal hunting, increased investments in people’s development and additional conservation efforts such as improving anti-poaching strategies and conservation resources in terms of improving funding and personnel directed at this problem are a growing priority

Hematologic, serum biochemistry and urinary values for captive Crab-eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous) in São Paulo state, Brazil

The importance of studies with hematological, serum biochemistry and urinary values of Crab-eating Fox (Cerdocyon thous) is based on the need for health care and maintenance of those populations. This paper has the objective to investigate hematological, serum biochemistry and urinary physiological parameters of the Crab-eating fox, comparing gender and age differences. Blood samples were collected in 2003 from 52 animals of different Zoos in São Paulo state, Brazil; 7mL of blood was used to obtain a complete blood cell count (CBC) and the profile of the serum biochemistry. Moreover, 5mL of urine were collected for analysis. There was no difference in values for male and female animals, as for the CBC and serum biochemistry. Some hematological and serum biochemical parameters were influenced by age, showing significant differences. Urinalysis results were just demonstrated in a descriptive form. The studied values were, RBC 4.35±0.73 x 10(6) /µL, WBC 7.72±3.66 x 10³ /µL (predominance of segmented neutrophils), platelets 227.06±111.58 x 10³ /µL, urea 43.06±14.28mg/dL and creatinine 1.03±0.24mg/dL. Hematological, serum biochemistry and urinary values obtained in this study can be used as physiological values of the captive Crab-eating Fox. It is possible to conclude that wild species need their own reference values, differentiating animals in captivity from free-ranging animals

Can biodiversity, human wellbeing and sustainable development indicators be linked?

A mission to reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity as a contribution to poverty reduction was agreed as part of the Strategic Plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted by the Conference of the Parties in 2002. As 2010 draws to a close it is clear that this target will not be met. To continue and build on momentum generated by the 2010 target, the conservation community has been discussing a potential post-2010 framework that again includes explicit reference to the link between human wellbeing and conservation, and also considers the links with human wellbeing and sustainable development. Given this agreement, we reviewed several human wellbeing and sustainable development indicators compared to existing biodiversity status and trends indicators to determine if clear correlations can be found that could be used to track progress in a new framework. We undertook this review at both the global and continental levels. The indicators for protected area and forest cover showed significant positive correlation across all continents. We found a significant negative correlation between changes in protected area (PA ) cover and tonnage of greenhouse gas emissions released (GHGe) between 1990 and 2005 for all the continents. At the global level we found no other correlation across the indicators reviewed. However, we found that correlations between the biodiversity and human wellbeing and sustainable development indicators varied across continents. As the only indicators for which global level correlations exist, we suggest that either protected area coverage or forest cover may be relevant biodiversity indicators for global analyses of biodiversity-human wellbeing or sustainable development relationships, and that the relationship between protected area cover and greenhouse gases could be one indicator for links between biodiversity and sustainable development. More research is needed to better understand factors involved in the relationships between biodiversity, human wellbeing and sustainable development, and to identify useful indicators of these linkages at global or continental level. In the meantime, the challenges presented by demonstrating these links should not delay urgently needed conservation actions