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Franchini M. The debatable notion of "novelty deficiency" in significant conservation domains. Integr Zool 2024; 19:1009-1013. [PMID: 38627893 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2024]
Abstract
In significant conservation domains, rejecting papers to prioritize novelty, may impede scientific and social progress as these studies carry crucial policy and practical implications. The research's rigor (rather than novelty) should be the primary criterion for evaluating the works' robustness and suitability for publication. Innovation is essential, but science requires a balanced approach, encompassing both conceptual innovation and practical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Franchini
- Department of Agrifood, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
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2
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Guerisoli MDLM, Schiaffini MI. “I Did, I Did Taw a Puddy Tat!” Pumas in Urban Ecosystems of Latin America: A Review of the Mediatic Information. FRONTIERS IN CONSERVATION SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2022.739026] [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
The concentration of people living in small areas has increased in the last decade, with more than half of the world's population living in cities. This is particularly true for Latin America, a region with no particular high contribution to the world total population, but hosts several large cities. The increase in urbanization causes several threats to wildlife that face the loss of their habitat and novel environmental pressures. As the number of wildlife entering cities seems to have increased in the last year, we characterize the temporal and geographical events of a widely distributed carnivore, the puma, Puma concolor. We performed an exhaustive search for media news regarding the sighting, capture, and/or killing of pumas within human settlement areas, and tried to relate them with potential explanatory variables. We found a total of 162 events in Latin America in a period of the last 10 years, particularly concentrated in the year 2020. Most records came from Brazil, followed by Argentina, Chile, and Mexico. Of the total, 41% were only sightings, 58% were captures, and a minor percentage were considered as mascotism. Almost the same number of records came from highly populated areas (cities) than from low populated areas (rural) but with important differences between countries. The countries with more records in urban areas (Brazil and Mexico) showed a larger surface occupied by cities. The countries with most records in rural areas (Argentina and Chile) present the opposite pattern of occupied surface. This might indicate that different percentages of areas dedicated to cities or urban spaces might explain the differences among countries. The most important variable related to puma events in the populated areas was sky brightness, while human density and cattle density explained minor parts. The “anthropause” due to the COVID-19 pandemic might explain the larger number of records from 2020, while the absence of high-quality habitats due to fragmentation and high cattle density, might force the pumas to enter populated areas searching for food. Minor values of night lights could be related to a facilitation of efficiency of foraging behavior. Although some bias might exist in the data, the results should be taken into account as general statements for all analyzed countries.
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Gustafson KD, Gagne RB, Buchalski MR, Vickers TW, Riley SPD, Sikich JA, Rudd JL, Dellinger JA, LaCava MEF, Ernest HB. Multi-population puma connectivity could restore genomic diversity to at-risk coastal populations in California. Evol Appl 2022; 15:286-299. [PMID: 35233248 PMCID: PMC8867711 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization is decreasing wildlife habitat and connectivity worldwide, including for apex predators, such as the puma (Puma concolor). Puma populations along California's central and southern coastal habitats have experienced rapid fragmentation from development, leading to calls for demographic and genetic management. To address urgent conservation genomic concerns, we used double-digest restriction-site associated DNA (ddRAD) sequencing to analyze 16,285 genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 401 pumas sampled broadly across the state. Our analyses indicated support for 4-10 geographically nested, broad- to fine-scale genetic clusters. At the broadest scale, the four genetic clusters had high genetic diversity and exhibited low linkage disequilibrium, indicating that pumas have retained genomic diversity statewide. However, multiple lines of evidence indicated substructure, including 10 finer-scale genetic clusters, some of which exhibited fixed alleles and linkage disequilibrium. Fragmented populations along the Southern Coast and Central Coast had particularly low genetic diversity and strong linkage disequilibrium, indicating genetic drift and close inbreeding. Our results demonstrate that genetically at risk populations are typically nested within a broader-scale group of interconnected populations that collectively retain high genetic diversity and heterogenous fixations. Thus, extant variation at the broader scale has potential to restore diversity to local populations if management actions can enhance vital gene flow and recombine locally sequestered genetic diversity. These state- and genome-wide results are critically important for science-based conservation and management practices. Our nested population genomic analysis highlights the information that can be gained from population genomic studies aiming to provide guidance for the conservation of fragmented populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle D. Gustafson
- Department of Biological SciencesArkansas State UniversityJonesboroArkansasUSA
| | - Roderick B. Gagne
- Department of PathobiologyWildlife Futures ProgramUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary MedicineKennett SquarePennsylvaniaUSA
| | | | - T. Winston Vickers
- Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health CenterSchool of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California ‐ DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Seth P. D. Riley
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaNational Park ServiceThousand OaksCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jeff A. Sikich
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaNational Park ServiceThousand OaksCaliforniaUSA
| | - Jaime L. Rudd
- California Department of Fish and WildlifeRancho CordovaCaliforniaUSA
| | | | - Melanie E. F. LaCava
- Wildlife Genomics and Disease Ecology LaboratoryDepartment of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
| | - Holly B. Ernest
- Wildlife Genomics and Disease Ecology LaboratoryDepartment of Veterinary SciencesUniversity of WyomingLaramieWyomingUSA
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LaBarge LR, Evans MJ, Miller JRB, Cannataro G, Hunt C, Elbroch LM. Pumas
Puma concolor
as ecological brokers: a review of their biotic relationships. Mamm Rev 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/mam.12281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Laura R. LaBarge
- Program in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, Department of Environment and Sustainability, The State University of New York University at Buffalo Amherst NY14260USA
- Center for Conservation Innovation Defenders of Wildlife Washington DC20036USA
- Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior Bücklestraße 5 Konstanz DE78467Germany
| | - Michael J. Evans
- Center for Conservation Innovation Defenders of Wildlife Washington DC20036USA
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy George Mason University 4400 University Dr Fairfax VA22030USA
| | - Jennifer R. B. Miller
- Center for Conservation Innovation Defenders of Wildlife Washington DC20036USA
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy George Mason University 4400 University Dr Fairfax VA22030USA
| | - Gillian Cannataro
- Center for Conservation Innovation Defenders of Wildlife Washington DC20036USA
- Conservation, Management and Welfare Sciences Association of Zoos and Aquariums 8403 Colesville Rd., Suite 710 Silver Spring MD20910‐3314USA
| | - Christian Hunt
- Field Conservation Defenders of Wildlife Washington DC20036USA
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Salom A, Suárez ME, Destefano CA, Cereghetti J, Vargas FH, Grande JM. Human-Wildlife Conflicts in the Southern Yungas: What Role do Raptors Play for Local Settlers? Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11051428. [PMID: 34067506 PMCID: PMC8156693 DOI: 10.3390/ani11051428] [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: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Wildlife persecution due to human-wildlife conflict has become a serious concern for biodiversity conservation, especially for many endangered species. In this context, conservation approaches need to consider the socio-ecological dimensions of each particular situation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the existence, extent and social characteristics of Human-Raptor Conflicts (HRC) in the Southern Yungas region in northwestern Argentina. We conducted 115 semi-structured interviews in 21 sites and analyzed attitudes and associations between sociodemographic variables and the existence of HRC. Forty percent of interviewees showed negative attitudes towards raptors, mainly with those species considered livestock predators rather than poultry predators. A total of 11 species were regarded as conflictive because of predation on domestic animals, of which Andean condors showed the highest conflict. The only socio-demographic factor affecting conflicts was livestock and poultry rearing, independently of age, gender and occupation of interviewees. The fact that only 8.7% of interviewees reported taking direct actions towards conflictive species indicates a relatively peaceful coexistence of people with raptors. Nevertheless, negative attitudes towards Andean condor together with their extreme susceptibility to any increase in non-natural mortality indicate the need of an integral conservation approach to tackle future threats for this species' conservation in the area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amira Salom
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Conservación de Vida Silvestre, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC-CONICET), Bernardo Houssay 200, Ushuaia 9410, Argentina
- Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina
- The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709, USA; (F.H.V.); (J.M.G.)
- Correspondence:
| | - María Eugenia Suárez
- Grupo de Etnobiología, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, e Instituto de Micología y Botánica (INMIBO), Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET-UBA, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina;
| | - Cecilia Andrea Destefano
- Área de Agroecología, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. San Martín 4453, Buenos Aires C1417, Argentina;
| | | | - Félix Hernán Vargas
- The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709, USA; (F.H.V.); (J.M.G.)
| | - Juan Manuel Grande
- The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709, USA; (F.H.V.); (J.M.G.)
- Colaboratorio de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Conservación (ColBEC), INCITAP (CONICET-UNLPam), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (FCEyN), Universidad Nacional de La Pampa (UNLPam), Avda, Uruguay 151, Santa Rosa 6300, Argentina
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Native, exotic, and livestock prey: assessment of puma Puma concolor diet in South American temperate region. MAMMAL RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s13364-020-00549-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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