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

Sporormiella as a tool for detecting the presence of large herbivores in the Neotropics

The reliability of using the abundance of Sporormiella spores as a proxy for the presence and abundance of megaherbivores was tested in southern Brazil. Mud-water interface samples from nine lakes, in which cattle-use was categorized as high, medium, or low, were assayed for Sporormiella representation. The sampling design allowed an analysis of both the influence of the number of animals using the shoreline and the distance of the sampling site from the nearest shoreline. Sporormiella was found to be a reliable proxy for the presence of large livestock. The concentration and abundance of spores declined from the edge of the lake toward the center, with the strongest response being in sites with high livestock use. Consistent with prior studies in temperate regions, we find that Sporormiella spores are a useful proxy to study the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna or the arrival of European livestock in Neotropical landscapes

Yellowstone's Prehistoric Bison: A Comment on Keigley (2019)

We provide additional information addressing the issue of whether American bison (Bison bison) were generally absent or present in Yellowstone National Park prior to its establishment in 1872. Our results support Keigley's conclusion that bison herds before the mid-1800s were absent in Yellowstone National park, and particularly the park's northern range. Our results also support Keigley's conclusion that bison had no significant role in the ecological processes that helped shape the park's original landscape.The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information

Evolution of approaches for forest cover estimation in the Pacific Northwest, USA, using remote sensing

The transformation of land cover, in particular coniferous forest, constitutes one of the most notable agents of regional-to-global-scale environmental change. Remote sensing provides an excellent opportunity for providing forest cover information at appropriate spatial and temporal scales. The optimal exploitation of remote sensing relies on the link between known forest cover and the remotely sensed dataset. This paper explores the accuracy of three methods – vegetation indices, regression analysis and neural networks – for estimating coniferous forest cover across the United States Pacific Northwest. All methods achieved a similar accuracy of forest cover estimation. However, in view of the benefits and limitations of each, the neural network approach is recommended for future consideration