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Guldemond RAR, Louw CJ, Maré C, Nørgaard C, van Aarde RJ. Demographic responses of an insular elephant population to removal as a management intervention. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Robert A. R. Guldemond
- Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Cornelius J. Louw
- Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Celesté Maré
- Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Camilla Nørgaard
- Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
| | - Rudi J. van Aarde
- Conservation Ecology Research Unit, Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Hatfield South Africa
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2
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Jackson J, Le Coeur C, Jones O. Life-history predicts global population responses to the weather in terrestrial mammals. eLife 2022; 11:74161. [PMID: 35775734 PMCID: PMC9307275 DOI: 10.7554/elife.74161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
With the looming threat of abrupt ecological disruption due to a changing climate, predicting which species are most vulnerable to environmental change is critical. The life-history of a species is an evolved response to its environmental context, and therefore a promising candidate for explaining differences in climate-change responses. However, we need broad empirical assessments from across the world's ecosystems to explore the link between life history and climate-change responses. Here, we use long-term abundance records from 157 species of terrestrial mammals and a two-step Bayesian meta-regression framework to investigate the link between annual weather anomalies, population growth rates, and species-level life history. Overall, we found no directional effect of temperature or precipitation anomalies or variance on annual population growth rates. Furthermore, population responses to weather anomalies were not predicted by phylogenetic covariance, and instead there was more variability in weather responses for populations within a species. Crucially, however, long-lived mammals with smaller litter sizes had smaller absolute population responses to weather anomalies compared with their shorter living counterparts with larger litters. These results highlight the role of species-level life history in driving responses to the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Jackson
- 2.Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Owen Jones
- Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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3
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Berzaghi F, Chami R, Cosimano T, Fullenkamp C. Financing conservation by valuing carbon services produced by wild animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2120426119. [PMID: 35613052 PMCID: PMC9295732 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2120426119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Filling the global biodiversity financing gap will require significant investments from financial markets, which demand credible valuations of ecosystem services and natural capital. However, current valuation approaches discourage investment in conservation because their results cannot be verified using market-determined prices. Here, we bridge the gap between finance and conservation by valuing only wild animals’ carbon services for which market prices exist. By projecting the future path of carbon service production using a spatially explicit demographic model, we place a credible value on the carbon capture services produced by African forest elephants. If elephants were protected, their services would be worth $20.8 billion ($10.3 to $29.7 billion) and $25.9 billion ($12.8 to $37.6 billion) for the next 10 and 30 y, respectively, and could finance antipoaching and conservation programs. Elephant population growth would generate a carbon sink of 109 MtC (64 to 153) across tropical Africa in the next 30 y. Avoided elephant extinction would also prevent the loss of 93 MtC (46 to 130), which is the contribution of the remaining populations. Uncertainties in our projections are controlled mainly by forest regeneration rates and poaching intensity, which indicate that conservation can actively reduce uncertainty for increased financial and biodiversity benefits. Our methodology can also place lower bounds on the social cost of nature degradation. Poaching would result in $2 to $7 billion of lost carbon services within the next 10 to 30 y, suggesting that the benefits of protecting elephants far outweigh the costs. Our methodology enables the integration of animal services into global financial markets with major implications for conservation, local socioeconomies, and conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Berzaghi
- Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences, UMR - Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA), 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Ralph Chami
- Institute for Capacity Development, The International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC 20431
| | - Thomas Cosimano
- Department of Finance, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556
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4
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Hauenstein S, Jassoy N, Mupepele A, Carroll T, Kshatriya M, Beale CM, Dormann CF. A systematic map of demographic data from elephant populations throughout Africa: implications for poaching and population analyses. Mamm Rev 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Severin Hauenstein
- Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis University of Freiburg 79106FreiburgGermany
- Department of Biology University of York YorkYO10 5DDUK
| | - Noémi Jassoy
- Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis University of Freiburg 79106FreiburgGermany
| | - Anne‐Christine Mupepele
- Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis University of Freiburg 79106FreiburgGermany
- Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology University of Freiburg Freiburg79106Germany
| | - Thea Carroll
- CITES Secretariat – MIKE Programme United Nations Environment Programme 30552‐00100NairobiKenya
| | - Mrigesh Kshatriya
- CITES Secretariat – MIKE Programme United Nations Environment Programme 30552‐00100NairobiKenya
| | | | - Carsten F. Dormann
- Department of Biometry and Environmental System Analysis University of Freiburg 79106FreiburgGermany
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Does Social Complexity Drive Vocal Complexity? Insights from the Two African Elephant Species. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11113071. [PMID: 34827803 PMCID: PMC8614502 DOI: 10.3390/ani11113071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 10/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The social complexity hypothesis (SCH) for communication predicts that species with complex social systems exhibit complex communication systems. Testing the SHC in a broad range of species can contribute to a better understanding of human evolution because a co-evolutionary runaway process between social and vocal complexity may have shaped human language. Here we compare patterns of vocal complexity between the two species of African elephants: the savanna elephant exhibiting a complex social organization and the forest elephant exhibiting a simpler social organization. We review the existing literature and present novel insights into the vocal communication system of the elusive forest elephant, along with a first direct comparison with savanna elephants. Our findings suggest that the African elephants may contradict the SCH, as well as other factors potentially shaping patterns of vocal complexity across species. A better understanding of vocal complexity in the two species of African elephants will depend on continuing advancements in remote data collection technologies to overcome the challenges of observing forest elephants in their dense rainforest habitat, as well as the availability of comparable data quantifying both structural and contextual variability in the vocal production of both species of African elephants. Abstract The social complexity hypothesis (SCH) for communication states that the range and frequency of social interactions drive the evolution of complex communication systems. Surprisingly, few studies have empirically tested the SHC for vocal communication systems. Filling this gap is important because a co-evolutionary runaway process between social and vocal complexity may have shaped the most intricate communication system, human language. We here propose the African elephant Loxodonta spec. as an excellent study system to investigate the relationships between social and vocal complexity. We review how the distinct differences in social complexity between the two species of African elephants, the forest elephant L. cyclotis and the savanna elephant L. africana, relate to repertoire size and structure, as well as complex communication skills in the two species, such as call combination or intentional formant modulation including the trunk. Our findings suggest that Loxodonta may contradict the SCH, as well as other factors put forth to explain patterns of vocal complexity across species. We propose that life history traits, a factor that has gained little attention as a driver of vocal complexity, and the extensive parental care associated with a uniquely low and slow reproductive rate, may have led to the emergence of pronounced vocal complexity in the forest elephant despite their less complex social system compared to the savanna elephant. Conclusions must be drawn cautiously, however. A better understanding of vocal complexity in the genus Loxodonta will depend on continuing advancements in remote data collection technologies to overcome the challenges of observing forest elephants in their dense rainforest habitat, as well as the availability of directly comparable data and methods, quantifying both structural and contextual variability in the production of rumbles and other vocalizations in both species of African elephants.
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LaDue CA, Schulte BA, Kiso WK, Freeman EW. Musth and sexual selection in elephants: a review of signalling properties and potential fitness consequences. BEHAVIOUR 2021. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Sexual selection mediated by multimodal signals is common among polygynous species, including seasonally breeding mammals. Indirect benefit models provide plausible explanations for how and why mate selection can occur in the absence of direct benefits. Musth — an asynchronous reproductive state in male elephants — facilitates both inter- and intrasexual selection via indirect benefits, and it is further communicated through a multimodal signal. In this review, we synthesise existing evidence that supports the hypothesis that musth is a multimodal signal subject to sexual selection and that male elephants increase their direct fitness by propagating this signal while females accrue indirect benefits. Musth is characterised by a suite of physiological and behavioural changes, serving to facilitate copulation between the sexes, and via multisensory modalities musth conveys honest information about the condition of a male. Female elephants mate preferentially with musth males, increasing their own fitness in the absence of direct benefits. In addition, musth resolves dynamic dominance hierarchies among male elephants and often eliminates the need for costly physical combat. Future work in this field should investigate potential postcopulatory selection mechanisms in elephants, including sperm competition and cryptic female choice. These topics join other fundamental questions related to sexual selection, signalling, and indirect benefits that are still unanswered in elephants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chase A. LaDue
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Bruce A. Schulte
- Department of Biology, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY, USA
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Chusyd DE, Ackermans NL, Austad SN, Hof PR, Mielke MM, Sherwood CC, Allison DB. Aging: What We Can Learn From Elephants. FRONTIERS IN AGING 2021; 2:726714. [PMID: 35822016 PMCID: PMC9261397 DOI: 10.3389/fragi.2021.726714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Elephants are large-brained, social mammals with a long lifespan. Studies of elephants can provide insight into the aging process, which may be relevant to understanding diseases that affect elderly humans because of their shared characteristics that have arisen through independent evolution. Elephants become sexually mature at 12 to 14 years of age and are known to live into, and past, their 7th decade of life. Because of their relatively long lifespans, elephants may have evolved mechanisms to counter age-associated morbidities, such as cancer and cognitive decline. Elephants rely heavily on their memory, and engage in multiple levels of competitive and collaborative relationships because they live in a fission-fusion system. Female matrilineal relatives and dependent offspring form tight family units led by an older-aged matriarch, who serves as the primary repository for social and ecological knowledge in the herd. Similar to humans, elephants demonstrate a dependence on social bonds, memory, and cognition to navigate their environment, behaviors that might be associated with specializations of brain anatomy. Compared with other mammals, the elephant hippocampus is proportionally smaller, whereas the temporal lobe is disproportionately large and expands laterally. The elephant cerebellum is also relatively enlarged, and the cerebral cortex is highly convoluted with numerous gyral folds, more than in humans. Last, an interesting characteristic unique to elephants is the presence of at least 20 copies of the TP53 tumor suppressor gene. Humans have only a single copy. TP53 encodes for the p53 protein, which is known to orchestrate cellular response to DNA damage. The effects of these multiple copies of TP53 are still being investigated, but it may be to protect elephants against multiple age-related diseases. For these reasons, among others, studies of elephants would be highly informative for aging research. Elephants present an underappreciated opportunity to explore further common principles of aging in a large-brained mammal with extended longevity. Such research can contribute to contextualizing our knowledge of age-associated morbidities in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniella E. Chusyd
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
- *Correspondence: Daniella E. Chusyd,
| | - Nicole L. Ackermans
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
- Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Steven N. Austad
- Department of Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
- Nathan Shock Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Michelle M. Mielke
- Division of Epidemiology, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences and Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - David B. Allison
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States
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Ortiz JC, Pears RJ, Beeden R, Dryden J, Wolff NH, Gomez Cabrera MDC, Mumby PJ. Important ecosystem function, low redundancy and high vulnerability: The trifecta argument for protecting the Great Barrier Reef's tabular
Acropora. Conserv Lett 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Juan C. Ortiz
- Australian Institute of Marine Science Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Rachel J. Pears
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Roger Beeden
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Jen Dryden
- Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Townsville Queensland Australia
| | | | | | - Peter J Mumby
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies Douglas Queensland Australia
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9
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Entry and aggregation at a Central African bai reveal social patterns in the elusive forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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10
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Jackson J, Mar KU, Htut W, Childs DZ, Lummaa V. Changes in age-structure over four decades were a key determinant of population growth rate in a long-lived mammal. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:2268-2278. [PMID: 32592591 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A changing environment directly influences birth and mortality rates, and thus population growth rates. However, population growth rates in the short term are also influenced by population age-structure. Despite its importance, the contribution of age-structure to population growth rates has rarely been explored empirically in wildlife populations with long-term demographic data. Here we assessed how changes in age-structure influenced short-term population dynamics in a semi-captive population of Asian elephants Elephas maximus. We addressed this question using a demographic dataset of female Asian elephants from timber camps in Myanmar spanning 45 years (1970-2014). First, we explored temporal variation in age-structure. Then, using annual matrix population models, we used a retrospective approach to assess the contributions of age-structure and vital rates to short-term population growth rates with respect to the average environment. Age-structure was highly variable over the study period, with large proportions of juveniles in the years 1970 and 1985, and made a substantial contribution to annual population growth rate deviations. High adult birth rates between 1970 and 1980 would have resulted in large positive population growth rates, but these were prevented by a low proportion of reproductive-aged females. We highlight that an understanding of both age-specific vital rates and age-structure is needed to assess short-term population dynamics. Furthermore, this example from a human-managed system suggests that the importance of age-structure may be accentuated in populations experiencing human disturbance where age-structure is unstable, such as those in captivity or for endangered species. Ultimately, changes to the environment drive population dynamics by influencing birth and mortality rates, but understanding demographic structure is crucial for assessing population growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Jackson
- Department of Biology, Interdisciplinary Centre for Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense M, Denmark.,Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Khyne U Mar
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Win Htut
- Myanma Timber Enterprise, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation, Gyogone Forest Compound, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Dylan Z Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Virpi Lummaa
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
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11
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Brand CM, Johnson MB, Parker LD, Maldonado JE, Korte L, Vanthomme H, Alonso A, Ruiz-Lopez MJ, Wells CP, Ting N. Abundance, density, and social structure of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in a human-modified landscape in southwestern Gabon. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0231832. [PMID: 32348354 PMCID: PMC7190099 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Population monitoring is critical to effective conservation, but forest living taxa can be difficult to directly observe. This has been true of African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis), for which we have limited information regarding population size and social behavior despite their threatened conservation status. In this study, we estimated demographic parameters using genetic capture-recapture of forest elephants in the southern Industrial Corridor of the Gamba Complex of Protected Areas in southwestern Gabon, which is considered a global stronghold for forest elephants. Additionally, we examined social networks, predicting that we would find matrilineal structure seen in both savanna and forest elephants. Given 95% confidence intervals, we estimate population size in the sampled area to be between 754 and 1,502 individuals and our best density estimate ranges from 0.47 to 0.80 elephants per km2. When extrapolated across the entire Industrial Corridor, this estimate suggests an elephant population size of 3,033 to 6,043 based on abundance or 1,684 to 2,832 based on density, approximately 40–80% smaller than previously suggested. Our social network analysis revealed approximately half of network components included females with different mitochondrial haplotypes suggesting a wider range of variation in forest elephant sociality than previously thought. This study emphasizes the threatened status of forest elephants and demonstrates the need to further refine baseline estimates of population size and knowledge on social behavior in this taxon, both of which will aid in determining how population dynamics in this keystone species may be changing through time in relation to increasing conservation threats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Colin M. Brand
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States of America
| | - Mireille B. Johnson
- Gabon Biodiversity Program, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Gamba, Gabon
| | - Lillian D. Parker
- Department of Biosciences, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States of America
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Jesús E. Maldonado
- Department of Biosciences, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States of America
- Center for Conservation Genomics, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Lisa Korte
- Gabon Biodiversity Program, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Gamba, Gabon
| | - Hadrien Vanthomme
- Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Alfonso Alonso
- Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | | | - Caitlin P. Wells
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States of America
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States of America
| | - Nelson Ting
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States of America
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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12
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Zeng Y, Ping X, Jiang Z. Inertia in CITES nomenclature. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2019; 33:991-992. [PMID: 31329341 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zeng
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Endangered Species Scientific Commission of PR China, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Xiaoge Ping
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Endangered Species Scientific Commission of PR China, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Zhigang Jiang
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- Endangered Species Scientific Commission of PR China, Beijing, 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 100049, China
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13
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Boyles JG, Swart JM, Bennett NC, Ferguson W, Speakman JR, Scantlebury DM. Energetics suggest cause for even further conservation concern for Temminck’s ground pangolin. Anim Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- J. G. Boyles
- Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory Center for Ecology, and School of Biological Sciences Southern Illinois University Carbondale IL USA
| | - J. M. Swart
- Welgevonden Game Reserve Vaalwater South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - N. C. Bennett
- Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - W. Ferguson
- Mammal Research Institute University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
| | - J. R. Speakman
- Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Aberdeen Aberdeen UK
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- CAS Centre of Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China
| | - D. M. Scantlebury
- School of Biological Sciences Institute for Global Food Security Queen’s University Belfast Belfast UK
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15
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Increasing conservation translocation success by building social functionality in released populations. Glob Ecol Conserv 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
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16
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Jackson J, Childs DZ, Mar KU, Htut W, Lummaa V. Long-term trends in wild-capture and population dynamics point to an uncertain future for captive elephants. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20182810. [PMID: 30900534 PMCID: PMC6452069 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining sustainable populations in captivity without supplementation through wild-capture is a major challenge in conservation that zoos and aquaria are working towards. However, the capture of wild animals continues for many purposes where conservation is not the primary focus. Wild-capture hinders long-term conservation goals by reducing remaining wild populations, but the direct and long-term indirect consequences of wild-capture for captive population viability are rarely addressed using longitudinal data. We explored the implications of changes in wild-capture on population dynamics in captivity over 54 years using a multi-generational studbook of working Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus) from Myanmar, the largest remaining captive elephant population. Here we show that population growth and birth rates declined between 1960 and 2014 with declines in wild-capture. Importantly, wild-caught females had reduced birth rates and a higher mortality risk. However, despite the disadvantages of wild-capture, the population may not be sustainable without it, with immediate declines owing to an unstable age-structure that may last for 50 years. Our results highlight the need to assess the long-term demographic consequences of wild-capture to ensure the sustainability of captive and wild populations as species are increasingly managed and conserved in altered or novel environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Jackson
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Dylan Z. Childs
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Khyne U. Mar
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20500 Turku, Finland
| | - Win Htut
- Myanma Timber Enterprise, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation, Gyogone Forest Compound, Bayint Naung Road, Insein Township, Yangon, Myanmar
| | - Virpi Lummaa
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20500 Turku, Finland
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Stalmans ME, Massad TJ, Peel MJS, Tarnita CE, Pringle RM. War-induced collapse and asymmetric recovery of large-mammal populations in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0212864. [PMID: 30865663 PMCID: PMC6415879 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
How do large-mammal communities reassemble after being pushed to the brink of extinction? Few data are available to answer this question, as it is rarely possible to document both the decline and recovery of wildlife populations. Here we present the first in-depth quantitative account of war-induced collapse and postwar recovery in a diverse assemblage of large herbivores. In Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, we assembled data from 15 aerial wildlife counts conducted before (1968-1972) and after (1994-2018) the Mozambican Civil War (1977-1992). Pre-war total biomass density exceeded 9,000 kg km-2, but populations declined by >90% during the war. Since 1994, total biomass has substantially recovered, but species composition has shifted dramatically. Formerly dominant large herbivores-including elephant (Loxodonta africana), hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius), buffalo (Syncerus caffer), zebra (Equus quagga), and wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus)-are now outnumbered by waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) and other small to mid-sized antelopes. Waterbuck abundance has increased by an order of magnitude, with >55,000 individuals accounting for >74% of large-herbivore biomass in 2018. By contrast, elephant, hippo, and buffalo, which totaled 89% of pre-war biomass, now comprise just 23%. These trends mostly reflect natural population growth following the resumption of protection under the Gorongosa Restoration Project; reintroductions (465 animals of 7 species) accounted for a comparatively small fraction of the total numerical increase. Waterbuck are growing logistically, apparently as-yet unchecked by interspecific competition or predation (apex-carnivore abundance has been low throughout the post-war interval), suggesting a community still in flux. Most other herbivore populations have increased post-war, albeit at differing rates. Armed conflict remains a poorly understood driver of ecological change; our results demonstrate the potential for rapid post-war recovery of large-herbivore biomass, given sound protected-area management, but also suggest that restoration of community structure takes longer and may require active intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc E. Stalmans
- Department of Scientific Services, Beira, Sofala Province, Mozambique
| | - Tara J. Massad
- Department of Scientific Services, Beira, Sofala Province, Mozambique
| | - Mike J. S. Peel
- ARC-Animal Production Institute, Rangeland Ecology Group, Nelspruit, South Africa
| | - Corina E. Tarnita
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States of America
| | - Robert M. Pringle
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States of America
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Poulsen JR, Rosin C, Meier A, Mills E, Nuñez CL, Koerner SE, Blanchard E, Callejas J, Moore S, Sowers M. Ecological consequences of forest elephant declines for Afrotropical forests. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2018; 32:559-567. [PMID: 29076179 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2017] [Revised: 10/05/2017] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Poaching is rapidly extirpating African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) from most of their historical range, leaving vast areas of elephant-free tropical forest. Elephants are ecological engineers that create and maintain forest habitat; thus, their loss will have large consequences for the composition and structure of Afrotropical forests. Through a comprehensive literature review, we evaluated the roles of forest elephants in seed dispersal, nutrient recycling, and herbivory and physical damage to predict the cascading ecological effects of their population declines. Loss of seed dispersal by elephants will favor tree species dispersed abiotically and by smaller dispersal agents, and tree species composition will depend on the downstream effects of changes in elephant nutrient cycling and browsing. Loss of trampling and herbivory of seedlings and saplings will result in high tree density with release from browsing pressures. Diminished seed dispersal by elephants and high stem density are likely to reduce the recruitment of large trees and thus increase homogeneity of forest structure and decrease carbon stocks. The loss of ecological services by forest elephants likely means Central African forests will be more like Neotropical forests, from which megafauna were extirpated thousands of years ago. Without intervention, as much as 96% of Central African forests will have modified species composition and structure as elephants are compressed into remaining protected areas. Stopping elephant poaching is an urgent first step to mitigating these effects, but long-term conservation will require land-use planning that incorporates elephant habitat into forested landscapes that are being rapidly transformed by industrial agriculture and logging.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Poulsen
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
- University Program in Ecology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Cooper Rosin
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Amelia Meier
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Emily Mills
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Chase L Nuñez
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
- University Program in Ecology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Sally E Koerner
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412, U.S.A
| | - Emily Blanchard
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Jennifer Callejas
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Sarah Moore
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
| | - Mark Sowers
- Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, P.O. Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708, U.S.A
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Walls SC. Coping With Constraints: Achieving Effective Conservation With Limited Resources. Front Ecol Evol 2018. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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Turkalo AK, Wrege PH, Wittemyer G. Demography of a forest elephant population. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0192777. [PMID: 29447207 PMCID: PMC5813957 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0192777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
African forest elephants face severe threats from illegal killing for ivory and bushmeat and habitat conversion. Due to their cryptic nature and inaccessible range, little information on the biology of this species has been collected despite its iconic status. Compiling individual based monitoring data collected over 20 years from the Dzanga Bai population in Central African Republic, we summarize sex and age specific survivorship and female age specific fecundity for a cohort of 1625 individually identified elephants. Annual mortality (average = 3.5%) and natality (average = 5.3%) were lower and markedly less variable relative to rates reported for savanna elephant populations. New individuals consistently entered the study system, leading to a 2.5% average annual increase in the registered population. Calf sex ratios among known birth did not differ from parity. A weak seasonal signal in births was detected suggesting increased conceptions during the wet season. Inter-calf intervals and age of primiparity were longer relative to savanna elephant populations. Within the population, females between the ages of 25-39 demonstrated the shortest inter-calf intervals and highest fecundity, and previous calf sex had no influence on the interval. Calf survivorship was high (97%) the first two years after birth and did not differ by sex. Male and female survival began to differ by the age of 13 years, and males demonstrated significantly lower survival relative to females by the age of 20. It is suspected these differences are driven by human selection for ivory. Forest elephants were found to have one of the longest generation times recorded for any species at 31 years. These data provide fundamental understanding of forest elephant demography, providing baseline data for projecting population status and trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea K. Turkalo
- The Wildlife Conservation Society, B.P., Bangui, Central African Republic
- The Elephant Listening Project, Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - Peter H. Wrege
- The Elephant Listening Project, Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, United States of America
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America
- Save The Elephants, Nairobi, Kenya
- * E-mail:
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Goldenberg SZ, Wittemyer G. Orphaned female elephant social bonds reflect lack of access to mature adults. Sci Rep 2017; 7:14408. [PMID: 29089603 PMCID: PMC5663962 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14712-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Compensatory social behavior in nonhuman animals following maternal loss has been documented, but understanding of how orphans allocate bonding to reconstruct their social networks is limited. Successful social integration may be critical to survival and reproduction for highly social species and, therefore, may be tied to population persistence. We examined the social partners involved in affiliative interactions of female orphans and non-orphans in an elephant population in Samburu, northern Kenya that experienced heightened adult mortality driven by drought and intense ivory poaching. We contrasted partners across different competitive contexts to gain insight to the influence of resource availability on social interactions. Though the number of partners did not differ between orphans and non-orphans, their types of social partners did. Orphans interacted with sisters and matriarchs less while feeding than did non-orphans, but otherwise their affiliates were similar. While resting under spatially concentrated shade, orphans had markedly less access to mature adults but affiliated instead with sisters, bulls, and age mates. Orphan propensity to strengthen bonds with non-dominant animals appears to offer routes to social integration following maternal loss, but lack of interaction with adult females suggests orphans may experience decreased resource access and associated fitness costs in this matriarchal society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shifra Z Goldenberg
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA.
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya.
| | - George Wittemyer
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA
- Save the Elephants, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya
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Mizuno K, Sharma N, Idani G, Sukumar R. Collective behaviour of wild Asian elephants in risky situations: how do social groups cross roads? BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Among group-living animals, some members may derive benefit by following the decisions of other members. Free-ranging wild Asian elephants in Mudumalai National Park, southern India, must often cross roads and can be disturbed by vehicles. We assessed if measures of road and traffic characteristics serve as indicators of risk, and compared behaviours of different age classes during road-crossing events. More individuals displayed excitable behaviour on wider roads. A larger number of adults entered the road first, which is considered the most dangerous position, compared with immature elephants. Immature individuals tended to move ahead of others on the road, suggesting that it is more important for immature individuals to follow adults at the beginning of a crossing than to follow along for the entire crossing. These findings may suggest that less experienced group members derive benefit by following the decisions of experienced ones under risky situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaori Mizuno
- Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Nachiketha Sharma
- Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Gen’ichi Idani
- Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Raman Sukumar
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
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