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Denny S, Englander G, Hunnicutt P. Private management of African protected areas improves wildlife and tourism outcomes but with security concerns in conflict regions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2401814121. [PMID: 38950358 PMCID: PMC11260162 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401814121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Protected areas can conserve wildlife and benefit people when managed effectively. African governments increasingly delegate the management of protected areas to private, nongovernmental organizations, hoping that private organizations' significant resources and technical capacities actualize protected areas' potential. Does private sector management improve outcomes compared to a counterfactual of government management? We leverage the transfer of management authority from governments to African Parks (AP)-the largest private manager of protected areas in Africa-to show that private management significantly improves wildlife outcomes via reduced elephant poaching and increased bird abundances. Our results also suggest that AP's management augments tourism, while the effect on rural wealth is inconclusive. However, AP's management increases the risk of armed groups targeting civilians, which could be an unintended outcome of AP's improved monitoring and enforcement systems. These findings reveal an intricate interplay between conservation, economic development, and security under privately managed protected areas in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean Denny
- Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA93117
| | | | - Patrick Hunnicutt
- Environmental Science and Policy, Chapman University, Orange, CA92866
- School of Planning, Public Policy, and Management, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR97403
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Manley K, Egoh BN. Climate and biodiversity change constrain the flow of cultural ecosystem services to people: A case study modeling birding across Africa under future climate scenarios. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 919:170872. [PMID: 38354801 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Global change is currently impacting ecosystems and their contributions to people (i.e. ecosystem services). These impacts have consequences for societies and human well-being, especially in Africa. Historically, efforts have focused on assessing global change from a social or biophysical perspective, treating them as separate entities. Yet, our understanding of impacts to social-ecological systems remains limited, particularly in the Global South, due to a lack of data, tools, and approaches accounting for social and ecological aspects of ecosystem services. This is especially relevant for cultural ecosystem services as they are less tangible. We use a simple indicator and important provider of a multitude of cultural ecosystem services, birding, to understand how climate, biodiversity, and land use change will impact cultural ecosystem services across Africa. We explore how emerging tools and data can overcome limitations in mapping and modeling cultural ecosystem services, particularly in analyzing human preferences and behavior at large spatiotemporal scales and in data-poor regions. Leveraging crowdsourced data from eBird and using machine learning techniques we map and model recreational birding to assess the underlying social-ecological relationships and the impact of future climate and environmental change. We show that bird species richness, protected areas, accessibility, and max temperature contribute most to birding suitability across the continent. Further, we show spatial shifts in the suitability of birding under three future climate scenarios (SSP126, 370, and 585). Models suggest climate and biodiversity change will increasingly constrain the flow of birding related cultural ecosystem services across Africa. This has implications for human-nature interactions, development of countries, management of protected areas, and overall human well-being in the future. More generally, we highlight opportunities for crowdsourced datasets and machine learning to integrate non-material ecosystem services in models and thus, enhance the understanding of future impacts to ecosystem services and human well-being.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Manley
- Department of Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
| | - Benis N Egoh
- Department of Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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Farner JE, Howard M, Smith JR, Anderson CB, Mordecai EA. Local tree cover predicts mosquito species richness and disease vector presence in a tropical countryside landscape. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-3954302. [PMID: 38464276 PMCID: PMC10925468 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3954302/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Context Land use change drives both biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease transmission in tropical countryside landscapes. Developing solutions for protecting countryside biodiversity, public health, and livelihoods requires understanding the scales at which habitat characteristics such as land cover shape biodiversity, especially for arthropods that transmit pathogens. Evidence increasingly shows that species richness for many taxa correlates with local tree cover. Objectives We investigated whether mosquito species richness, community composition, and presence of disease vector species responded to land use and tree cover - and if so, whether at spatial scales similar to other taxa. Methods We paired a field survey of mosquito communities in agricultural, residential, and forested lands in rural southern Costa Rica with remotely sensed tree cover data. We compared mosquito community responses to tree cover surrounding survey sites measured across scales, and analyzed community responses to land use and environmental gradients. Results Tree cover was positively correlated with mosquito species richness, and negatively correlated with the presence of the common invasive dengue vector Aedes albopictus, particularly at small spatial scales of 80 - 200m. Land use predicted community composition and Ae. albopictus presence. Environmental gradients of tree cover, temperature, and elevation explained 7% of species turnover among survey sites. Conclusions The results suggest that preservation and expansion of tree cover at local scales can protect biodiversity for a wide range of taxa, including arthropods, and also confer protection against disease vector occurrence. The identified spatial range of tree cover benefits can inform land management for conservation and public health protection.
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Farner JE, Howard M, Smith JR, Anderson CB, Mordecai EA. Local tree cover predicts mosquito species richness and disease vector presence in a tropical countryside landscape. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.05.570170. [PMID: 38105954 PMCID: PMC10723306 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.05.570170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Context Land use change drives both biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease transmission in tropical countryside landscapes. Developing solutions for protecting countryside biodiversity, public health, and livelihoods requires understanding the scales at which habitat characteristics such as land cover shape biodiversity, especially for arthropods that transmit pathogens. Evidence increasingly shows that species richness for many taxa correlates with local tree cover. Objectives We investigated whether mosquito species richness, community composition, and presence of disease vector species responded to land use and tree cover - and if so, whether at spatial scales similar to other taxa. Methods We paired a field survey of mosquito communities in agricultural, residential, and forested lands in rural southern Costa Rica with remotely sensed tree cover data. We compared mosquito community responses to tree cover surrounding survey sites measured across scales, and analyzed community responses to land use and environmental gradients. Results Tree cover was positively correlated with mosquito species richness, and negatively correlated with the presence of the common invasive dengue vector Aedes albopictus , particularly at small spatial scales of 80 - 200m. Land use predicted community composition and Ae. albopictus presence. Environmental gradients of tree cover, temperature, and elevation explained 7% of species turnover among survey sites. Conclusions The results suggest that preservation and expansion of tree cover at local scales can protect biodiversity for a wide range of taxa, including arthropods, and also confer protection against disease vector occurrence. The identified spatial range of tree cover benefits can inform land management for conservation and public health protection.
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Song H, Wang W, Zhu J, Ren C, Li X, Lou W, Yang W, Du L. Research on the sustainable development of tourism coupled with economic and environment data--a case study of Hangzhou. MATHEMATICAL BIOSCIENCES AND ENGINEERING : MBE 2023; 20:20852-20880. [PMID: 38124579 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The scale of tourism has continued to expand in recent years, and many associated activities cause damage to the natural environment. The tourism, economy and natural environment constitute a system: destruction of the natural environment reduces the value of tourism and a lack of tourism affects the development of the economy. To explore the relationship between the tourism, economy and natural environment, and to explore possibilities for sustainable development, this paper takes Hangzhou, a tourist city in China, as a research object. An analysis of time series data is carried out. First, the tourism, economy and natural environment subsystems are constructed by extracting time series data acquired between 2010 and 2020. Second, a tourism evaluation model with coupled economic and natural environment data is constructed and the coupling degree and coupling coordination level in Hangzhou are evaluated. Third, the time series of each subsystem and the coupling coordination level of the whole system are analyzed. Finally, an optimization strategy is proposed for the coupled coordinated development of the tourism, economy and natural environment in Hangzhou. A key result is that the tertiary industry represented by tourism has become the main source of local income. Hangzhou's tourism coupling coordination level has changed from slight disorder in 2010 to good in 2020. It is also found that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a major factor restricting the development of tourism. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, Hangzhou's tourism industry and economy were synchronized. After the outbreak of COVID-19, both the number of tourists and tourism revenue in Hangzhou fell by nearly 15%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haifeng Song
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Weijia Wang
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Jiaqi Zhu
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Cong Ren
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Xin Li
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Wenyi Lou
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Weiwei Yang
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Lei Du
- School of Electronics and Information Engineering, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, China
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Levey DR, Patten MA, Estrada A. Bird species occupancy trends in Southeast Mexico over 1900-2020: Accounting for sighting record absences. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:606-618. [PMID: 36520005 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Long-term land-use change impacts tropical bird communities through population-level and functional diversity effects from habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, leading to land management and conservation challenges. Assessing the temporal impacts of land-use change on occupancy patterns, population change and functional traits of bird species in tropical areas is limited by the treatment of nondetections as true absences or artefacts of low sampling effort during and throughout years. With this in mind, we developed a novel Bayesian species occupancy framework to account for species absences to evaluate bird community changes in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico, where there is opportunity for study given exceptional records of change across habitats from rainforest to urban centres. We created a novel dataset of population trends for 244 bird species over the years 1900 to 2020 from published short-term field studies, expert field notes and community science pages. Our results show that open area species had higher population increases than forest specialists over time, represented most evidently by the turnover of rainforest specialists for urban species. Modelled influence of functional traits displayed the importance of main habitat types, body mass and habitat and dietary breadth as factors that associated with bird population trends. On average, species with body masses <6.6 and > 948.4 g showed decreasing trends, while all other species showed increasing or stable trends. Our findings illuminate the value of accounting for species absences from several data sources to discover long-term species population trends and affiliated functional traits whose preservation requires conservation and land management action to protect bird ecosystem services. Primary forest conservation is key to maintaining populations of habitat and dietary specialists, such as small understorey insectivorous and large frugivorous species. Protecting rare natural savanna patches from conversion to cattle pasture is vital to prevent further extirpation of native granivores and to slow colonization by exotic and invasive species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dallas R Levey
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.,Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico.,Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Michael A Patten
- Ecology Research Group, Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University, Steinkjer, Norway
| | - Alejandro Estrada
- Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Carbonara M, Mendonza-Roldan JA, Perles L, Alfaro-Alarcon A, Romero LM, Murillo DB, Piche-Ovares M, Corrales-Aguilar E, Iatta R, Walochnik J, Santoro M, Otranto D. Parasitic fauna of bats from Costa Rica. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2022; 20:63-72. [PMID: 36655207 PMCID: PMC9841367 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2022.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Bats are important reservoirs and spreaders of pathogens, including those of zoonotic concern. Though Costa Rica hosts one of the highest bat species' diversity, no information is available about their parasites. In order to investigate the occurrence of vector-borne pathogens (VBPs) and gastrointestinal (GI) parasites of chiropterans from this neotropical area, ectoparasites (n = 231) and stools (n = 64) were collected from 113 bats sampled in Santa Cruz (site 1) and Talamanca (site 2). Mites, fleas and ticks were morphologically and molecularly identified, as well as pathogens transmitted by vectors (VBPs, i.e., Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp.) and from feces, such as Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp. and Eimeria spp. were molecularly investigated. Overall, 21 bat species belonging to 15 genera and 5 families were identified of which 42.5% were infested by ectoparasites, with a higher percentage of mites (38.9%, i.e., Cameronieta sp. and Mitonyssoides sp.) followed by flies (2.6%, i.e., Joblingia sp.) and tick larvae (1.7%, i.e., Ornithodoros sp.). Rickettsia spp. was identified in one immature tick and phylogenetically clustered with two Rickettsia species of the Spotted Fever Group (i.e., R. massiliae and R. rhipicephali). The frequency of GI parasite infection was 14%, being 3.1% of bats infected by Giardia spp. (un-identified non-duodenalis species), 1.5% by Eimeria spp. and 9.4% by Cryptosporidium spp. (bat and rodent genotypes; one C. parvum-related human genotype). The wide range of ectoparasites collected coupled with the detection of Rickettsia sp., Giardia and Cryptosporidium in bats from Costa Rica highlight the role these mammals may play as spreaders of pathogens and the need to further investigate the pathogenic potential of these parasites.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lívia Perles
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy
| | | | | | - Daniel Barrantes Murillo
- Pathology Department, National University, Heredia, Costa Rica,Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Alabama, USA
| | - Marta Piche-Ovares
- Research Center for Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Microbiology, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica,Department of Virology, School of Veterinary Medicine, National University, Heredia, Costa Rica
| | | | - Roberta Iatta
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy
| | - Julia Walochnik
- Institute of Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mario Santoro
- Department of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy
| | - Domenico Otranto
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, Italy,Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran,Corresponding author. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, 70010, Bari, Italy.
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Ota Y, Singh GG, Clark T, Schutter MS, Swartz W, Cisneros-Montemayor AM. Finding logic models for sustainable marine development that deliver on social equity. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001841. [PMID: 36251652 PMCID: PMC9576085 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Sustainable development is often represented as contributing to desirable outcomes across economic, environmental, and social goals, yet policies and interventions attempting to deliver sustainable development often disagree on the order in which these categories of goals should be addressed. In this Essay, we identify and review 5 approaches (called logic models) for sustainable development in ocean systems based on existing policies and interventions and consider the evidence for their contributions to equity—the ultimate goal of sustainable development according to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Two of the 5 logic models prioritize economic growth and lead to social and environmental benefits, 2 prioritize environmental health as a prerequisite for sustainable economic and social benefits, and the final logic model is community driven and prioritizes social dimensions. Looking towards the 2030 maturation of the SDGs, we will need to understand what models are best suited to deliver on equity gains and prevent future inequities in development and how best to operationalize them. Pursuing sustainable ocean development is not controversial, but the approaches towards it often are. This Essay provides an initial assessment of competing models to achieve sustainable development, and their ability to deliver on the promise of “leaving no one behind”.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshitaka Ota
- Ocean Nexus, School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Gerald G. Singh
- Ocean Nexus, School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Timothy Clark
- Ocean Nexus, Department of Sociology, Catawba College, Salisbury, North Carolina, United States of America
| | | | - Wilf Swartz
- Ocean Nexus, Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Echeverri A, Smith JR, MacArthur-Waltz D, Lauck KS, Anderson CB, Monge Vargas R, Alvarado Quesada I, Wood SA, Chaplin-Kramer R, Daily GC. Biodiversity and infrastructure interact to drive tourism to and within Costa Rica. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2107662119. [PMID: 35245152 PMCID: PMC8931240 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2107662119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificanceTourism accounts for roughly 10% of global gross domestic product, with nature-based tourism its fastest-growing sector in the past 10 years. Nature-based tourism can theoretically contribute to local and sustainable development by creating attractive livelihoods that support biodiversity conservation, but whether tourists prefer to visit more biodiverse destinations is poorly understood. We examine this question in Costa Rica and find that more biodiverse places tend indeed to attract more tourists, especially where there is infrastructure that makes these places more accessible. Safeguarding terrestrial biodiversity is critical to preserving the substantial economic benefits that countries derive from tourism. Investments in both biodiversity conservation and infrastructure are needed to allow biodiverse countries to rely on tourism for their sustainable development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Echeverri
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Jeffrey R. Smith
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540
| | - Dylan MacArthur-Waltz
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Katherine S. Lauck
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Christopher B. Anderson
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Salo Sciencies, San Francisco, CA 94103
| | | | | | - Spencer A. Wood
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1570
| | - Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- SPRING, Oakland, CA 94618
| | - Gretchen C. Daily
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
- Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
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