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Kuiper T, Altwegg R, Beale C, Carroll T, Dublin HT, Hauenstein S, Kshatriya M, Schwarz C, Thouless CR, Royle A, Milner-Gulland EJ. Drivers and facilitators of the illegal killing of elephants across 64 African sites. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222270. [PMID: 36629103 PMCID: PMC9832558 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Ivory poaching continues to threaten African elephants. We (1) used criminology theory and literature evidence to generate hypotheses about factors that may drive, facilitate or motivate poaching, (2) identified datasets representing these factors, and (3) tested those factors with strong hypotheses and sufficient data quality for empirical associations with poaching. We advance on previous analyses of correlates of elephant poaching by using additional poaching data and leveraging new datasets for previously untested explanatory variables. Using data on 10 286 illegally killed elephants detected at 64 sites in 30 African countries (2002-2020), we found strong evidence to support the hypotheses that the illegal killing of elephants is associated with poor national governance, low law enforcement capacity, low household wealth and health, and global elephant ivory prices. Forest elephant populations suffered higher rates of illegal killing than savannah elephants. We found only weak evidence that armed conflicts may increase the illegal killing of elephants, and no evidence for effects of site accessibility, vegetation density, elephant population density, precipitation or site area. Results suggest that addressing wider systemic challenges of human development, corruption and consumer demand would help reduce poaching, corroborating broader work highlighting these more ultimate drivers of the global illegal wildlife trade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Kuiper
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa,Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Res Altwegg
- Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
| | - Colin Beale
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Thea Carroll
- UN programme for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Holly T. Dublin
- Technical Advisory Group to the programme for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Severin Hauenstein
- Department of Biology, University of York, York, UK,Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis, University of Freiburg, Germany
| | - Mrigesh Kshatriya
- UN programme for Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Carl Schwarz
- StatMathComp Consulting, Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Andrew Royle
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, MD, USA
| | - E. J. Milner-Gulland
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
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Mukeka JM, Ogutu JO, Kanga E, Piepho HP, Røskaft E. Long-term trends in elephant mortality and their causes in Kenya. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.975682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
High mortality poses a serious threat to sustainable conservation of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Using detected carcass data collected by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) during 1992-2017, we analyze temporal and spatial variation in elephant mortality in Kenya. We investigate the major mortality causes and means used to kill elephants, carcass category, tusk recovery status, variation in mortality with elephant age and sex classes, differences between inside and outside protected areas (PAs), the Proportion of Illegally Killed Elephants (PIKE) and the overall mortality rate (MR — the number of dead/number of live elephants in a given year). In total 9,182 elephant deaths were recorded during the 26 years. Elephant mortality increased over time and was attributed primarily to natural (33.1%) and human-related causes, particularly ivory poaching (31.5%) and human-elephant conflicts (19.9%). Elephant mortality varied across Kenya’s 47 counties in correspondence with variation in elephant population size and was the highest in the leading elephant range counties of Taita Taveta, Laikipia, Samburu and Meru. Mortality was higher for males and adults and outside the protected areas. Most elephant carcasses had tusks (75.1%) but a few did not (12.5%). Yearly PIKE values peaked in 2012, the year with the highest poaching levels in Kenya during 1992-2017. MR increased throughout 1992-2017. Temporal variation in elephant mortality probability was significantly influenced by human and livestock population densities, average annual maximum temperature and total annual rainfall and the strength of these influences varied across the seven leading elephant range counties of Kenya. Natural processes are increasingly contributing to elephant mortality likely due to climate change and the associated food and water stress, exacerbated by contracting range. Enhancing anti-poaching and strategies for mitigating climate change impacts and human-elephant conflict and reducing range contraction while sustaining habitat connectivity can help reduce mortality and promote elephant conservation. Strengthening enforcement of international wildlife laws can further reduce illegal trade in tusks and killing of elephants.
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Rammala B, Zhou N. Looking into the world's largest elephant population in search of ligninolytic microorganisms for biorefineries: a mini-review. BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR BIOFUELS AND BIOPRODUCTS 2022; 15:64. [PMID: 35689287 PMCID: PMC9188235 DOI: 10.1186/s13068-022-02159-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Gastrointestinal tracts (GIT) of herbivores are lignin-rich environments with the potential to find ligninolytic microorganisms. The occurrence of the microorganisms in herbivore GIT is a well-documented mutualistic relationship where the former benefits from the provision of nutrients and the latter benefits from the microorganism-assisted digestion of their recalcitrant lignin diets. Elephants are one of the largest herbivores that rely on the microbial anaerobic fermentation of their bulky recalcitrant low-quality forage lignocellulosic diet given their inability to break down major components of plant cells. Tapping the potential of these mutualistic associations in the biggest population of elephants in the whole world found in Botswana is attractive in the valorisation of the bulky recalcitrant lignin waste stream generated from the pulp and paper, biofuel, and agro-industries. Despite the massive potential as a feedstock for industrial fermentations, few microorganisms have been commercialised. This review focuses on the potential of microbiota from the gastrointestinal tract and excreta of the worlds' largest population of elephants of Botswana as a potential source of extremophilic ligninolytic microorganisms. The review further discusses the recalcitrance of lignin, achievements, limitations, and challenges with its biological depolymerisation. Methods of isolation of microorganisms from elephant dung and their improvement as industrial strains are further highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bame Rammala
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana.
| | - Nerve Zhou
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Private Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana.
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Development and validation of a spatially-explicit agent-based model for space utilization by African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) based on determinants of movement. Ecol Modell 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Mkuburo L, Nahonyo C, Smit J, Jones T, Kohi E. Investigation of the effect of poaching on African elephant (Loxodonta africana) group size and composition in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. SCIENTIFIC AFRICAN 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.sciaf.2020.e00490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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